Paris Meets the X-Men
by Rogue181
Summary: The professor sends the X-Men under cover at Marinette's school while trying to find out who found the Green Gem of Cytorrak. Magneto was contacted by Xavier and he has sent Piotr and Gambit to Paris as well to help. How will Ladybug and Chat Noir react when they find out the mutants from the news has infiltrated Paris? Will they team up or try to stop the American heroes?
1. Chapter 1

**Summary**

 **The professor sends the X-Men under cover at Marinette's school while trying to find out who found the Green Gem of Cytorrak. Magneto was contacted by Xavier and he has sent Piotr and Gambit to Paris as well to help. How will Ladybug and Chat Noir react when they find out the mutants from the news has infiltrated Paris? Will they team up or try to stop the American heroes?**

Chapter 1

It was a beautiful Fall morning in Bayville, NY. However, Professor Charles Xavier was unable to enjoy the cool breeze coming through the windows due to yet another nightmare ridden night. The past 2 weeks had been spent in a cycle of sleepless nights and terrible nightmares. With his telepathic abilities, the professor was no stranger to interrupted sleep but these dreams were enough to make him start questioning his sanity. He has decided that it is time to track down what is causing these dreams which means he will have to move the team temporarily overseas, to no other than Paris France. Good thing he never got around to selling that vacation home his parents had bought.

The X-Men were in the middle of a training session when the Professor shut down the Danger Room and told everyone to be in his office in 5 minutes causing a feral growl to escape Wolverine. "Alright gang, you heard the man," Logan snapped.

Once they had gathered in the study the Professor looked at each member of his team with a solemn expression. "You are all aware of my step-brother Cain and how he found the Cytorrak gem." At their nods, he continued with his story. "There has long been rumors that there is another gem of Cytorrak hidden elsewhere in the world. I believe that I have found the location of this gem." He stops to collect his thoughts and to decide how best to continue with his tale. "I have been monitoring the European countries fairly heavily lately what with the news stories from Paris that involve the heroes Ladybug and Chat Noir to see if there are any mutant abilities they possess. I have determined that the source of their power does not come from the X-Gene but two weeks ago there was a spike of activity around Paris. When I was checking it out I was assaulted by the power of what I believe was the awakening of another gem of Cytorrak. If that is indeed the case we need to be in Paris to stop whatever power has been unleashed."

"But if Paris already has heroes that can handle situations like these why do we need to be there?" Scott Summers AKA Cyclops questioned as he ran a hand through his brown hair. "The last thing we need right now is for us to overstep our boundaries with these new heroes and get more bad publicity. People aren't exactly fond of mutants as it is."

"While I understand that we do not want to draw more attention to ourselves I also firmly believe that Ladybug and Chat Noir are not equipped to handle the issue without some help. They just appeared a year ago and while they are capable of handling what has been thrown at them so far I do not believe that they have ever faced anything as massive as the Juggernaut." The Professor ran a hand over his bald head as he stopped to look over the students. "Does anyone else have questions?"

"So, like, we're going to Paris?" Kitty Pryde AKA Shadowcat was barely containing her excitement and the desire to hop up and down. At the Professors nod the brunette squealed and no longer stopped herself from hopping up and down. "How soon are we leaving? Do I have time to go shopping for some new clothes?"

She was about to continue when Xavier cut in. "We are waiting for the arrival of Amanda Sefton and then we will be taking off. I need all of you to pack your bags and be wheels up ready in a half hour. You can each only take 2 suitcases. Anything else you will need can be purchased when we arrive."

"Professor," Kurt Wagner AKA Nightcrawler interject over Kitty's excited squealing, "why is Amanda coming on this mission?" Not that he minded the fact that his girlfriend would be traveling with him but he was concerned with her safety if things got as bad as Charles had hinted at. His three-fingered hand messed with his tail to keep it from twitching too much. His dark blue fur covered all his body and his yellow eyes freaked most people out the first time they saw him. With his appearance, people usually mistook him for a demon so he wore a holographic watch when outside of the institute to keep from being harassed. Amanda knew what he looked like and accepted him without any issues.

"As all of you know Amanda has been studying the mystical arts with Dr. Strange when they discovered she had a natural talent for it. We will need her mystical experience to help us to defeat this new threat."

"But why not involve Dr. Strange instead of Amanda," Ororo Monroe AKA Storm questioned with a slight narrowing of her blue eyes. Her white hair was loose and fell to her lower back. Its whiteness contrasted nicely with her mocha colored skin as she also crossed her arms in agitation. "She is just a child and he has years of experience on her."

"I understand your concern Storm but in my recent searches I have discovered that the stone was more then likely picked up by a student in one of Paris' Lycée schools while on a field trip. I am going to need the team to get into the school and find the child before they fully awaken the gems power. If we are lucky they only found a small piece of the stone. If that is the case I am afraid it will draw the current holder to find any other pieces that are around the area."

Once all their questions were satisfied the professor sent them off to pack while Storm and Wolverine stayed behind. As the professor turned his wheelchair around to look at them from the window overlooking the gardens they saw how tired his brown eyes looked.

Logan, never one for beating around the bush, straight up asked, "What aren't you telling the kids Prof?" His deep black, almost blue hair was free from the black and orange mask that he usually wore and his blue eyes were studying the professor as he looked for unspoken answers.

The professor looked at the short hairy man with a small sigh. "I am extremely concerned that if the child finds all the pieces of the gem that we will be facing another Juggernaut. Once I had decided on this course of action I contacted Magnus." Erik "Magnus" Lehnsherr otherwise known as Magneto the Master of Magnetism was one of the X-Men's strongest foes. The fact that Xavier felt the need to contact him spoke volumes on how worried he was about the situation. At the low growl from the feral mutant in the room the professor continued. "He was with Cain and I when Cain found the Cytorrak gem. He also has valuable knowledge on the subject and I know he has been vigilant looking for other gemstones to pop up. He has agreed to meet us in Paris with Gambit and Colossus. Those two will be helpful in monitoring what is going on outside of the school the students will be enrolling in. And you never know when Gambit's skills might come in handy."

With a sigh the Professor turns away from the 2 teachers. "Please go get yourselves packed. We will be wheels up in 20 minutes."

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic Pond, a certain blue eyed, blue haired girl was trying to work up the courage to speak with the green eyed, blonde boy that had been sitting in the school seat in front of her for the past year. Her red Ombre haired best friend was sitting with her face in her palm trying not to smack her clumsy, stuttering friend. "Girl, if you don't find a way to talk to him I am going to lock you two in a closet and not let you out until you do," Alya whispered to Marinette causing the blue haired girl to jump a mile with a little squeak making the two boys in front of them to turn around to see what was going on.

"Everything alright guys?" Nino asked while his bespectacled brown eyes looked at Alya hoping for a good answer. He was wearing his usual orange hat, blue shirt, and black and orange headphones hanging around his neck.

"Everything is fine, isn't it Marinette?" Alya poked her blushing friend in her arm causing her to jump a little again. Alya rolled her eyes. You would think by now she would be used to her friend's antics.

"R-r-right. Everything is good." Marinette was proud of the fact that she only stuttered a little. Over the last year she had become a little more comfortable around Adrien but sometimes she still got tongue tied when she didn't have time to prepare herself before she spoke. "We were just thinking that we should go to the zoo after school. They have a new exhibit with Butterflies."

Alya and Nino looked at Marinette like she was space alien. Did she say a complete idea without stuttering or mixing up the words? Adrien just smiled at his blue haired friend. "Sounds like fun. I actually have the afternoon off today so we can head over after school." Shortly after the plan was finalized the bell rang and the kids headed for their next class.

At the end of the school day they all meet on the school stairs and started walking towards the metro that would take them to the zoo where Alya's father worked. As they were walking along they noticed a news story that was playing at a nearby café.

"Once again American Senator Robert Kelly is calling for the mandatory registration of all mutants within their borders. He is also trying to increase the range of said registration by urging his supporters in the UN to also push for registration in all countries." The reporter wrapped up the news snippet and moved on the next story while the French teens started walking once again.

"I don't understand what the big deal is," Marinette stated as they started walking again. "Why is he so against mutants?"

"Maybe because they keep destroying parts of New York and other cities in the US?" Alya stated as she pulled up her phones browser to see if she could get any more information on whether the UN was discussing the possibility of registration.

Adrien, Nino, and Marinette stared at the blogger in confusion. "You actually support what he is pushing for," Adrien questioned while stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"What? NO! I just meant I can understand where he was coming from. He was the principal at one of the schools that was destroyed on multiple occasions," Alya replied with a shrug as her hazel eyes started scanning an article she found online. The kids continued to the Metro where they bought their tickets and boarded the subway headed to the area where the zoo was located.

As the teens were getting off the metro they heard a big commotion outside. Everyone looked at each other with exasperated expressions. "Can't we have one day without an akuma attacking," Nino whined. Nodding in agreement the other three ran out of the tunnel to see what was happening. What they saw was not an akuma but a massive figure covered in a green force field.

"What the heck is that?" Marinette exclaimed as she ducked to avoid being hit with some debris where the creature pounded the sidewalk.

"I don't know girl but I have to film this so it can go on the Ladyblog," Alya squealed before taking off for a better vantage point Nino hot on her heels to try to keep her out of trouble.

In the commotion, Marinette and Adrien found separate spots to hide and transform. "Tikki, what is that thing? It doesn't look like an akuma to me." Marinette asked the Kwami as she flew out of the pink purse.

The red and black kwami peeked out from behind the wall to get a better view of the destruction going on. "You are right that it is not an akuma, Marinette but it is still a magical force field that is covering the person/creature," Tikki pointed out as she narrowed her big blue eyes as she studies the creature.

"We have to stop him/her/whatever before they destroy everything. Tikki, Spots On!" Marinette cries. After transforming into Ladybug, she spins her yo-yo around and jumps to the roofs for a better look.

Meanwhile back in the Metro station Adrien had also found a place to hide before pulling Plagg out of his coat pocket. The black cat like kwami blinked up at him. "Is it time for Camembert," he questions hopefully.

"Nope, we have an issue to take care of first. Plagg, Claws Out!" Once transformed into Chat Noir, he hopped out of the Metro Station to find a better vantage point. Once up on the roof he sees his lady over a couple of buildings and jumps over to sit next to her. "Good evening, M'Lady," he greets with a flirtatious smile that was missed by the red and black superheroine who was too busy trying to find the best way to approach the figure below.

"Hello Chat. Do you have any idea what that thing is?" She questions without bothering to look at her partner.

Chat had been studying the green blob as well. "I have no idea. I don't see anything that would indicate it's an akuma. Let's get a closer look," he smirks as he uses his baton to propel him off the roof and towards the thing currently destroying the street.

He jumps in front of the green creature and crouches to look up at where the face should be. Instead of facial features all he sees is the vague rounded shape with indistinguishable features except for the eyes. The eyes were burning with what looks like green fire.

"What are you supposed to be?" Chat Noir taunts as he jumps towards the green monster in front of him. Smacking it upside the head with his staff, Chat was surprised when it bounced off without so much as a dent. _Well, that's not good._ Chat thought as he scanned for a weak spot. He jumped onto it's back and tried again to whack it with his staff. Again, all it did was bounce off and cause it to reverberate down his arms. Scowling, he jumped in for a third time but instead of hitting it with his staff he raked it across the back with his claws. This seemed to have gotten the creatures attention as it turned to look at the cat boy.

Smirking at his successful strike Chat rolled under the big arm that was swinging in his direction. As it passed over his head Ladybug's Yo-yo wrapped around it and she pulled with all her might using a nearby street lamp as a lever. Caught off guard at the sudden pull the creature stumbled a couple of paces before turning to see what had grabbed it. Looking at the yo-yo it pulled its arm in the opposite direction with enough force that Ladybug was thrown against the wall on the other side of the street. Chat rushed over to where his lady stood up and shook her head to try to clear the stars from her vision.

"That's not a good sign," Chat said as he checked her over for any serious injuries.

"Well, at least now we know for sure it isn't an akuma," She muttered crossly as she looks for another way to stop the monster.

"And how do we know that, bugaboo," Chat asks. He used the annoying nickname because he knows it will distract her from the problem at hand giving her brain a little break to hopefully find a different solution.

With a frown on her face at the use of the hated nickname she answered, "Because it didn't demand our Miraculous."

Nodding in agreement Chat was also studying the creature. "It doesn't like my claws, maybe I can slow it down enough for you to figure out a way to stop it from tearing up more of Paris." With that Chat was bounding back towards the retreating green figure. He jumped on its shoulders before tapping where the forehead should be. It didn't even phase the creature as it just reached up like it was swatting an annoying fly. Chat jumped to avoid the smack and used his momentum to rake his claws down the green blob's back and, once down far enough, he used his other hand to rake the back of the creature's legs. This got a yelp from the creature and caused it to fall to it's knees. Chat jumped out of the way as the downward motion caused some of the asphalt to crack from the force of the impact.

As the creature went to get back on it's feet it was met with a red beam. Startled Chat looked around to find a group of 6 teens and 2 adults all dressed in dark blue uniforms. Shaking his head to clear his vision, Chat realized he was not seeing things. The X-Men were really standing there ready to fight in Paris France!

 **Please leave a comment and let me know what you think. I watch the English dub of Miraculous Ladybug and Chat Noir so I will be using the Spots On, Claws Out, and Pound it! In this story! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ladybug joined Chat Noir as he tried to decide what the next step was. He didn't need to wait long because Cyclops started barking orders. "Storm we need cloud cover. Magik (Amanda Sefton's codename she decided on on the trip across the Atlantic) we need a forcefield around the area so nobody can get caught in the crossfire. Nightcrawler I want you, Wolverine and Chat Noir to keep this thing off balance. Rogue, you and Shadowcat make sure all the civilians have been cleared from the area. Ladybug I need you to come over here and join us so we can decide the best course of action."

At the end of the commands the X-Men jumped into action. Magik started chanting and a pink glow appeared in her eyes and hands as she brought her hands to her chest before throwing them out causing a forcefield to pop into existence about half a mile wide. Rogue and Kitty started searching the perimeter to see if there was anyone in the combat zone while Storm flew up and called the fog to hide their activities.

Nightcrawler disappeared in a puff of smoke only to instantly reappear next to Chat causing the cat boy to jump in surprise. "Guten Abend, mein Freund. Are you ready to travel in fuzzy elf style?" Kurt grinned at the black cat who nodded in agreement before finding himself above the thing they were fighting.

Letting out a yelp Chat found himself falling. Instinctively he used his claws to find purchase so he didn't hit the ground at full speed. His claws combined with Wolverine's adamantium was causing the creature to holler in pain and turn in circles.

While the boys were distracting the creature, Ladybug joined Cyclops, Jean, and Storm on the other side. As she approached she heard Cyclops asking Jean if she could get any information from its mind. At her head shake Cyclops sighed. "How are we supposed to beat this thing? I knew it was going to be difficult with it being like the Juggernaut."

"What's a Juggernaut," Ladybug questioned.

"He's an unstoppable force of nature who, as far as we have found, can only be taken down with a telepathic attack," Jean explained. "After we get this situation wrapped up we would like to give you and Chat the details."

Ladybug nodded. She wasn't sure if they knew that she spoke English since Jean had switched to French when she started speaking with Ladybug.

"The perimeter is cleared," Rogue informed her teammates as she and Shadowcat rejoined the group.

Ladybug jumped as Cyclops let loose another optic blast and blew a hole in the street right behind the stumbling creature causing it to fall over backwards landing on its back, giving Wolverine the chance to jump on top and keep it there.

Ladybug had an idea, "Lucky Charm," she cried as she threw her yoyo up into the air. A fog horn dropped down from a swarm of red/pink lights. Frowning at her Lucky Charm she turned to study the scene. She Ladybug vision highlighted the green creature under Wolverine, turning to look at the others she saw it highlighted Rogue and Jean as well. Nodding she knew what she needed to do.

Gathering the two girls together Ladybug explained her plan. "I'm going to be perfectly honest here," Ladybug started. "I'm not sure what your talents are so you will have to help me figure out how this works." At the two girls nods she explained briefly that she needed them to use their powers after the Fog Horn was blown and disrupted the green creature. Nodding Rogue stripped her gloves off and started moving more towards the creature so she could grab it when the horn went off. Hopefully she would be able to absorb enough of its energy to give Jean a chance to knock it out with her powers.

As Rogue was moving forward Jean sent a mental shout to Wolverine to cover his ears. Startled at the instruction Wolverine turned to look at the red head giving the green blob an opening to knock the short mutant of itself. Once Wolverine was gone it went after Chat. Nightcrawler teleported and caught Logan at the same time as the creature hit Chat and Ladybug pulled the trigger on the Fog Horn. The noise from the fog horn had the green creature covering its ears as Rogue jumped forward with her bare hands outstretched. Once she made contact she started absorbing its power and then she too was screaming! Kitty ran to her and phased her to keep her from getting too much energy. Jean waiting until there was an opening before battering at its mental defenses that were left. All in all, Ladybug's plan took 2 maybe 3 minutes to complete before the green flickering went out and a teenager fell to the ground. They barely had time to realize they had won before the green fire flared up again.

Seeing that the Lucky Charm didn't do its complete job Chat Noir yelled "Cataclysm" and procced to crumble the road under the green creature causing it to fall into the sewer system down below. Once it was below the street level Ladybug threw the Fog Horn into the air with a cry of "Miraculous Ladybug". Her magic ladybug army fixed all the destruction caused by the fight and locked the creature in the sewers for now. Once that was finished her earrings started to beep. Realizing she only had 4 minutes until her transformation wore off she turned to the group gathered around.

"I have to bug out. Can we meet up later to discuss what just happened?" She looked around for Chat Noir and saw him walking towards the group.

Cyclops nodded, "This is the address where we are staying while here in town. Meet us there in an hour." With that he nodded to his team and they all started leaving. Jean levitated part of the team in the air while Nightcrawler took Rogue and Magik and teleported back to the vacation house Xavier's family owned.

With a frown on her face Ladybug turned to Chat Noir. "Meet me on the Eiffel Tower in 40 minutes?" There was only one copy of the address and since they didn't know each other's civilian identities it would be difficult to show up at the house while not transformed. Not that she was overly eager to give up her secret identity to the X-Men anyway. Chat nodded and they went their separate ways to de-transform and rejoin Alya and Nino.

Once they found their friends they were assaulted by Alya and her excitement over what she had just witnessed. "CAN YOU BELIEVE THE X-MEN ARE IN PARIS?!" Alya started doing a little jig where she stood, "This will really get views for my blog!"

Sighing, Nino sat down on a nearby bench and took off his hat to run his fingers through his short brown hair in irritation. "That's great dudette but next time try not to be so close the magic force field thingy almost cuts you half? Seriously, you are going to give me grey hairs!"

Laughing at their antics Marinette and Adrien stopped by their friends before Marinette started lecturing Alya on safety while filming superhero fights. The group started towards the zoo again and Marinette pulled out her phone.

She really hated lying to her friends but she really needed to get Tikki some more cookies so she could transform and get to the Eiffel tower in time to meet Chat. "Oh my gosh, in all the excitement I missed a text from my parents saying they got a big order of macaroons and need my help at the bakery today! I gotta run! See you guys at school tomorrow!" With a wave, Marinette started running in the general direction of the Metro. Once out of view of her friends she veered off towards the nearest store and bought 2 cookies which she stuck in her purse for Tikki.

Shortly after Marinette took off Adrien looked at his phone as well. "Looks like a photo shoot was rescheduled. I gotta let Nathalie know where to pick me up and get over there. See you guys at school tomorrow!" With a wave, he took off running towards the nearest intersection while pretending to make a phone call.

"You know, I get the feeling that was planned," Nino laughed as he put an arm around Alya's shoulders as she laughed as well.

"Maybe they think if they leave us alone often enough we'll hook up." Alya teased as she hip bumped Nino. She wouldn't be upset in the slightest if he was interested in her that way but she didn't think he was.

Little did she know that Nino did in fact feel the same way but was also unsure how she felt about him. "Since we're already this far how about we go check out those butterflies Marinette was talking about," Nino suggested.

"Sounds good to me. Dad can probably take us home when he finishes up," Alya answered as she started leading the way towards the zoo.

Meanwhile, across town the X-Men were debriefing the professor while waiting for Ladybug and Chat Noir to arrive.

"So, you didn't get a look at who could possibly be in possession of the green gem," the Professor questioned Jean and Rogue specifically.

"Ah got some memories but they're all jumbled," Rogue explained. "Maybe if you were to go in and take a look around you could order them and get some information."

The Professor nodded, "We will do a session a little later to see what we can find. Jean, were you able to glean any information while you were inside his mind?"

"The only information I could really obtain was that it was a male and he seemed to be under the impression that his name is Steamroller."

Just as Jean finished off her explanation the security system informed them that Ladybug and Chat Noir had arrived.

Kurt took the opportunity to 'port to the front door and greet their guests. "Hello again! Please come inside."

Ladybug and Chat Noir had met at the Eiffel Tower and made their way to the address on the slip of paper via the rooftops. They decided to play a little game of catch. Ladybug won as per usual although she was halfway convinced that Chat let her win just so he could watch her run and jump. That thought made her feel giddy. She wasn't romantically interested in Chat but it didn't hurt her confidence to think he enjoyed the view. As they approached the address they both stopped and stared. Sitting in front of them was a huge two story brick mansion with at least 15 acres of land surrounding it. The grounds were meticulously kept and professionally landscaped.

"Wow! This place is claw-some!" Chat exclaimed.

"Definitely old money," Ladybug agreed with a roll of her eyes as the pun. _How in the world did the X-Men get access to a place like this?_ "Well, I guess we should go ring the bell." With that Ladybug used her yo-yo to land in the front lawn. As they walked up the front walkway they couldn't help but look around nervously, almost expecting to be attacked as they made their way to the front door.

Once up to door Chat pushed the doorbell alerting the inhabitants to their presence. Both jumped a little at how quickly the door was open. Startled to see the blue fuzzy X-Man standing in the doorway. "Hello again! Please come inside," Nightcrawler invited as he moved out of the way so the two French heroes could enter the foyer.

Chat was used to extravagant houses as Adrien Agreste but this was still a beautiful old house that he was sure had lots of interesting history behind it. The foyer opened to a sitting room decorated in golds and pale blues. The curtains over the windows were a slightly darker gold than the paint on the walls. There were three light blue couches situated to face a fireplace situated on the wall to the left of the windows. The artwork on the walls were pieces that looked like they should be in a museum. The coffee table, end tables and grandfather clock in the room were a shade darker then the hardwood that covered the floor.

"Wow," was all Ladybug could say as she walked in. She had seen the inside of the Agreste mansion and she could tell this place was definitely on par with her favorite fashion designer.

"Good evening. My name is Professor Charles Xavier," the professor greeted as he rolled into the room. "Please sit down and make yourselves comfortable." Ladybug and Chat Noir were startled when they turned to see a bald man sitting in a wheel chair behind them.

"Hello Monsieur," Ladybug greeted with a small curtsy.

"Bonjour Monsieur," Chat followed suit with a small bow. They really couldn't explain why but they both felt the power radiating from the man in front of them. Even in a wheelchair his presence demanded the respect of others. Not that he seemed to be mean, he seemed to be quite nice in fact.

Once they were seated and the rest of the team had joined them the Professor spoke again. "I am pleased to meet you two. Stories of your heroics have made it over to America and I must say that I am impressed with how much your skills have grown in the past year."

"Thank you, professor," Ladybug and Chat said at the same time with small blushes of pleasure across their faces.

"I do wish we were meeting under better circumstances but unfortunately it seems that we have a common enemy roaming the streets at this particular moment. I would like to get you both updated on what we have found out and would like to introduce the team." Charles swept his hand to the 8 people sitting with them. "These are the X-Men. The team leader is Scott Summers aka Cyclops. He has the ability to produce optic blasts from his eyes." The professor motioned towards the brown-haired teen with the red sunglasses. He was wearing civilian clothing as was the rest of the group. His 6' frame was clad in brown khakis, a blue sweater with a lighter blue t-shirt underneath, and a pair of brown loafers. He had a lithe build that could mislead people about how much muscle he possessed.

"Next to him is Jean Grey. Her abilities consist of telepathy and telekinesis." Jean was wearing a yellow long sleeved blouse with red trim. The shirt was cut a little short to show off her well defined abs. She also had on blue jeans and silver opened toed sandals that had a 2-inch heel making her taller than her usual 5'10" and emphasized her lean frame. Her red hair was hanging free down to her waist and helped to accentuate her green eyes.

"Kurt is next. He has the ability to teleport, not only himself but also a few others. In the field he goes by the name Nightcrawler." Kurt was not wearing his holographic watch but he was wearing his brown blazer over his long-sleeved maroon sweater with his usual khakis. He was currently barefoot so Ladybug and Chat could see that his feet as well as his hands were three fingered and that he stood at 5'9". His blue fur and yellow eyes had been off putting at first but they found he projected a likeable personality that no one would be able to deny.

"Next to him is Amanda Sefton aka Magik. She is not a mutant herself but has been training with the Sorcerer Supreme to harness her natural magical abilities. Thus her code name for this mission." Amanda was a darker skinned girl with thick brown hair that was parted on the side and hung down to her waist. She wore a silver choker around her neck and a black tank top with red trim and black jeans that showed off her 5'4" frame.

Ladybug and Chat Noir were a little surprised when they heard that she was not a mutant but a magic user like themselves. Ladybug stored that information away to ask about after the introductions were completed.

"Next to her is Kitty Pryde aka Shadowcat. She has the ability to walk through any object. We call her talent phasing." Kitty gave a little wave and a small smile. She was wearing a pink long sleeved blouse over a white cami and blue jean capris with a pink stipe at the bottom hem. She was also wearing a pair of brown slip on sandals. Her light brown hair was up in a high ponytail with her bangs framing her face. She was slim and dainty standing no taller than 5'1".

"Rogue is next. She has the ability to absorb the memories and abilities of anybody she touches." Rogue had auburn hair with 2 distinct white strips in the front. She stood around 5'8" and was also built like a gymnast. She wore a black tank top covered by a green mesh shirt, a black mini skirt over black leggings, black combat books, and black gloves. Her skin was incredibly pale like she didn't go outside much and she seemed to favor darker colored make-up causing Ladybug and Chat Noir to be reminded of Dracula.

"On the other side of the room we have 2 of the instructors at our school. Ororo Monroe aka Storm. She can control the weather." Storm was 5'11" with long lean lines and an effortless aura of regality. She wore a white shirt that almost matched the color of her hair. She dark mocha skin made her blue eyes pop. She also wore a purple skirt with a pink scarf belt tied around her waist and purple ballet flats.

"The final member of our little team here is Logan aka Wolverine. He has the ability to hear, see, and smell ten times better than the normal human. He can also run faster than most people and has three claws that he can extend or retract at will. But his greatest trait is his ability to heal from any wound." Logan had black hair that almost looked blue and came up to two points, one on each side of his head. He was shorter at 5'3" and was built like a wrestler. He wore blue jeans, a blue t-shirt and brown cowboy boots. He was currently messing with an unlit cigar and had a perpetual frown on his face.

"As I said earlier, my name is Charles Xavier. I have the power of telepathy. And to set you at ease I want to assure that unless you project your thoughts specifically to Jean or myself you do not have to worry about us 'eavesdropping' on your personal thoughts. It goes against our morals."

The reassurance helped put Ladybug at ease and she heaved a sigh of relief. "Well, as you know I am Ladybug. We are given our powers through magical means. I have the ability to call a Lucky Charm in battle as well as I get my indestructible yo-yo. Once we use our special ability we only have 5 minutes before we have to recharge our energy. I also fix all of the destruction at the end of the battle with my Miraculous Ladybug ability."

She motioned for Chat to introduce himself. "My name is Chat Noir," he introduced himself as stood up and gave a bow. This action caused Ladybug to roll her eyes in annoyance and slight amusement. "I have the ability to call on Cataclysm which destroys anything I touch. I also have my Bo staff that can extend to any length I need."

"Just what ah need. Another French boy with a stick," Rogue rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath.

Of course, with his enhanced hearing Chat heard her. "I don't understand, mademoiselle. I am unaware of any other Frenchmen running around with a Bo staff."

A slight blush crossed Rogue's cheeks at realizing he heard. "Well, he isn't necessarily French. He's a swamp rat that likes to flirt with anything in skirt."

Ladybug let out a laugh causing everyone to look at her. When she realized everyone was staring she cleared her throat and looked sheepish. "Sorry, I was just thinking that Rogue and I are going to get along well. We both are used to dealing with flirts."

"Meowoche M'Lady. You know I only flirt with you," Chat said wiggling his eyebrows at her causing her to once again huff and roll her eyes. Of course it also elicited a small chuckle from the spotted heroine.

"Yep, that sounds like Remy," Rogue said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, but, like, Remy does flirt with every female," Kitty said earning a nod from the rest of the females in the room.

Xavier chuckled and enjoyed watching the teens bond but he needed to get this discussion back on track, there was school tomorrow after all. "As amusing as this is we need to get back to on topic so you all can get some rest before school tomorrow morning." At the sigh from the students at the mention of school Charles allowed one more smile. As the teens settled, Xavier adjusted himself and collected his thoughts.

"As you guys witnessed we have a bit of a problem on our hands. The teen you were fighting has found part of a mystic stone. My step-brother Cain found another gem that we believe has the same abilities called the Gem of Cytorrak which provided him with the powers of a Juggernaut. The only way we have found to stop my step-brother is with mental attacks. The up side of this particular villain is that I believe he has only found a fragment of the stone. If we can keep him from finding the rest we have a much better chance of getting the stone away from him and returning him to normal."

"How do you know that this villain is male," Ladybug questioned. From what she saw it was impossible to tell the gender of the green blob that had attacked Paris.

"Jean and Rogue were able to glean some information with their abilities. Jean was able to get the information that the teenager was male and with the psychic properties of the stone the energy inside manifests itself into the identity of Steamroller."

"Well named," Chat muttered, "because it definitely felt like being hit with a steamroller." He flashed a cheeky grin as the professor continued.

"Because of the nature of her powers, the memories Rogue acquired are a bit jumbled. We were just getting ready for me to see if I could make sense of them. Rogue," the professor turned to the white and auburn-haired girl, "would it be alright with you if we did this here so that Ladybug and Chat Noir can get the information as well?"

At Rogue's nod, she adjusted herself into a more comfortable position since she wasn't sure how long this was going to take. With a deep sighed she dropped her mental blocks to allow the professor to access to the memories she had absorbed earlier that day.

Ladybug and Chat was not sure what to expect. As they watched they did not see anything happening. As they were starting to get bored Rogue started speaking in a flat tone of voice startling the occupants of the room.

"I was walking through the catacombs on a class field trip when I heard a noise off in one of the corridors. I wandered off and followed the voice. After making a couple of turns I found a crack in a wall that started glowing green as I approached. Without thinking about it I put my hand into the crack and pulled out a green, glowing stone."

As the last part was said Rogue emitted a scream before her head fell back and a soft groan was heard. Rogue and the professor both slowly straightened up and shook their heads as if they had just awoken from a nap. "The catacombs trip was taken about 2 weeks ago at the Lycée Francoise Dupont." Chat looked at Ladybug realizing he let a little too much personal information about his civilian identity slip in that statement.

She did her best not to show any reaction but was mentally freaking out wondering how Chat Noir would know about her class taking that trip. _Oh my God! Does this mean that Chat goes to my school? Do that mean that I might know him outside of the mask?_ Slowly pulling herself back to the present she said, "How is this information going to be helpful? There are hundreds of students in that school."

"As of tomorrow morning my X-Men will be attending the school. I had already enrolled them thinking the Lycée school Chat just mentioned was the most likely to provide the answers that we would need. Having this new information helps us to verify that I had deduced where to start our investigation correctly. Does anyone have any other information to add before we call it a night?"

As the teens shook their heads in the negative Ladybug took the chance to check the time on the grandfather clock. "We do need to get going. We usually do a patrol around part of Paris every evening from 9 to 10 and it is time for us to start the patrol. I do have one more question though, Professor." At his nod she continued, "I'm not trying to sound rude, but how are all of you so fluent in French?"

"Ah, that would be Forge. He is a computer genius that stops in at the Institute on occasion. He has a special gift with technology and was able to design translators for us. We all have one located behind our ears that will translate what we are saying into any language we desire based on our brain waves."

"That is claw-some," Chat exclaimed as he jumped off the couch. The poor cat boy wasn't going to be able to sit much longer anyway with all his pent-up energy. "Can I see one?" At the professor's nod Jean took hers off so Chat could examine it. He put it on and started speaking in Russian. With a laugh, he switched to Japanese and then Italian. After getting a sharp look from Ladybug he handed it back to the red-haired mutant with a thank you.

Cyclops stepped forward, "If it isn't too much of a hassle I think it would be good for a couple of us to go on the nightly patrols with you until this mess is wrapped up."

"We travel by rooftop usually but I don't see how having extra sets of eyes to help out would be an issue," Chat said with a shrug towards Ladybug.

"Great, I'll go get you a communicator so that we can talk if we get separated." Scott started to leave the room when Ladybug stopped him.

"No need, just give us the frequency and we can plug it into our weapons. They double as pretty much anything we might need including cell phone/communicators." Ladybug gave a soft smile to the brown-haired boy causing a brief flash of jealousy to course through Chat's heart before he stomped it down.

"Thank you for all the information but we really do need to be going now," Chat started to lead Ladybug towards the front door as soon as they were given the frequency. "We'll talk to you guys tomorrow night at patrol." With a wave they ran off across the yard and was soon swinging over the rooftop out of sight.

"Alright X-Men. Time to get ready for your first day at a new school." With collective groans from the students they headed off towards their new rooms to prepare for tomorrow. And tomorrow was going to be more eventful then they could imagine.

 **Translation for** Guten Abend, mein Freund – Good eveing, my friend

I apologize if the fight scene wasn't very entertaining. I have issues writting them for some reason. Next chapter is their first day of school. It's going to be exciting! 😊


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next morning found the mutants in their normal morning routines complete with the usual arguments that drove Logan crazy. The only difference being they were now 6 hours ahead of the time they were used to and that added to their crankiness. Luckily there was no danger room so they didn't have to train before school like normal.

"Like, what does one wear to school in Paris?" Kitty had all her clothes thrown on her bed as she tried to decide what to wear for her first day of school. With all the excitement yesterday they did not have a chance to go shopping and she was sure none of the clothes would be fashionable enough to compare to the other students.

"Kitty, will you decide already," Rogue exclaimed. She was dressed in an off white cami that showed her pale skin at her midriff. She wore a long-sleeved green and off white flannel shirt over the cami and light blue jeans with her black camo boots and black gloves. She had put on her customary purple eye shadow and lipstick along with mascara. She had also put on a double strand silver necklace with a crescent moon on the longest chain and a star charm on the shortest chain.

Kitty finally decided on a white lacy short sleeved shirt with pink jeans. She added a pair of white heels and a silver necklace with a heart pendent and the matching silver earrings. Her hair was left down and she added a touch of mascara and pink lip gloss. Deciding she was as ready for her first day as she could be, Kitty walked out the door of her room. With just a small part of the team staying at the house the professor had decided that they could all have their own rooms.

On the other side of town Marinette was getting a rude awakening from Tikki. "Marinette, your alarm has been going off for 15 minutes. GET UP!" Tikki had resorted to pulling on Marinette's hair in the hopes of finally pulling the sleeping girl out of dream land.

"Jus 5 more minute," Marinette mutter as she smacked Tikki with her hand before rolling over and pulling the covers over her head.

"If you don't get up this instant I am going downstairs to get your mother," Tikki huffed in indignation.

Groaning at the insistent voice Marinette peeked out from under the covers. "Why does morning have to come so early?"

Tikki giggled at the bleary-eyed girl. "I'm pretty sure Adrien is going to be showing up at school in 2 minutes."

That had the desired effect. Marinette squealed when she looked at the clock before flying around the room and getting ready in record time. She hurriedly brushed her teeth and grabbed her purse and bag before flying down the stairs with Tikki trailing behind forgotten. "Morning mama," Marinette greeted before grabbing the nearest croissant and an apple.

"You'd better hurry Marinette," her mom called as Marinette ran out the door, "because if you get another tardy you are grounded for 2 weeks!"

Marinette waved as she sprinted down the street narrowly missing being hit by a town car that was driving the street. She made it to the school in record time and greeted Alya, Adrien and Nino. "Guess what, Mari," Alya was practically bouncing up and down in her excitement.

Adrien walked up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder, "Alya, how about you let Nino tell her since it's his news." Adrien chuckled as Alya looked contrite before nodding and trying to contain her excitement.

Nino grinned at the girls before saying, "I've been offered the chance to DJ at the dance club my uncle manages. I'll be DJing this Friday!"

"Wow! Nino that's wonderful!" Marinette jumped up and down before giving Nino a huge hug.

"That's not the whole story though, I get to bring some friends with me." Nino's smile was about to split his face. "I was hoping you, Alya, and Adrien could come!"

Marinette stared for a second before looking to Alya who nodded vigorously. With a squeal the girls grabbed each other's arms and started hopping up and down. "Oh my gosh! What am I gonna wear?"

"Girl, tomorrow we are going shopping!" The girls' excitement and shopping planning was interrupted as the town car Marinette had run in front of earlier stopped in front of the school.

Most students walked to school or took a bus or the metro. Usually only the "rich" kids were dropped off at the front of the school. For the most part that meant Adrien and Chloe so everyone turned to stare as the car door opened and a beautiful redhaired girl got out of the car.

She was dressed in a green tank top with a yellow knitted shrug, a three-strand gold necklace, and a matching group of woven bracelets on her right wrist. A pair of jeans and brown wedges helped to show off her long, trim legs. She was followed out by a brunette boy with red sunglasses, a red sweater, brown khakis, and brown oxfords.

The guy was followed out by two more girls. One with her brown hair hanging loose with a lacy white top and pink jeans. The next one out had long dark brown hair a shade darker than her skin hanging to her waist and was wearing a black tank with a purple sweater open over it. She was wearing a multi strand silver necklace with blue jeans and black dress boots.

A pale boy got out of the car next. He was wearing a long sleeved blue and white checked flannel shirt, brown khaki's and brown oxfords. The final occupant had auburn hair with two white streaks in the front. She was dressed in an off white cami that showed her pale skin at her midriff. She wore a long-sleeved green and off white flannel shirt over the cami and light blue jeans with her black camo boots and black gloves.

As the X-Men stood looking at the school they felt the stares of the other students. _This is gonna be so much fun,_ Rogue thought as they started walking towards the school. _Hopefully it doesn't get as bad here as it is at home._ With that disturbing thought, Rogue looked at the rest of the group and found that most seemed to be thinking along the same lines. As the group approached the doorway they were greeted by a grating voice.

"Since when do we let **mutants** into this school," Chloe growled at the group as she stood in front of the doors.

The group sent her frowns as Rogue stepped forward and got into Chloe's face. "Who said we couldn't?"

Chloe pushed right back at her and answered, "Once I get hold of my daddy, the mayor, this school will."

"Well, ah ain't scared of your daddy so until you're done crying to him you have to let us through." Rogue lowered her voice as she said, "And ah'm pretty sure y'all don't want to see me use mah powers do ya?" Rogue smirked at the brief widening of the bleach blonde's eyes before they narrowed into a glare again.

Not wanting to appear weak but not really wanting to go up against the mutant in front of her Chloe opted for picking up her cell phone and stepping slightly to the side so she could call her daddy. As the group entered the building they were followed in by Marinette and Adrien who both recognized them from last night.

"Good morning," Marinette called out as she caught up with the group. "Sorry about the unfriendly welcome wagon," Marinette apologized as she wrinkled her nose and stuck out her tongue.

Adrien saw the face she was making and had to let out a laugh before joining the conversation. "Not all of us are that annoying. My name is Adrien and this is Marinette." Marinette's cheeks flushed a light red at Adrien's laugh and then him introducing her. By then Nino and Alya caught up with the group.

"I can't believe the X-Men are here!" Alya squealed as she got her phone ready. "I need an interview."

The group turned to look at her in confusion before Marinette, Adrien, and Nino started laughing. As her friends laughed Alya turned and glowered at them. "And **what** is so funny?"

Scott stepped towards the ombre brunette saying, "Maybe we can talk about a possible interview later. Right now we are supposed to be heading towards the principal's office to get our schedules."

As Adrien, Marinette, and Nino stopped laughing Marinette said, "We'll show you where it is. The one with the phone is Alya, she runs the Ladyblog and likes to keep up with all superhero incidents all over the world. The guy with the ballcap is Nino, he's really good at mixing music and just landed his first DJing gig at his uncle's night club!"

The X-Men greeted the 2 newcomers and then remembered their manners and introduced themselves. "My name is Scott," Scott, being the leader took the initiative to introduce the group. "This is Jean, Rogue, Kitty, Amanda, and Kurt."

Alya looked at Kurt funny before asking curiously, "Aren't you supposed to be blue?"

Kurt laughed, "Yeah but the professor had this holowatch made for me so that I can appear normal. Without it people would cause a riot trying to get away from the fuzzy dude."

"Dude," Nino exclaimed, "Adrien could use one of these! Then he can get away from all his fan girls." Nino chuckled and soon the whole group was laughing at Adrien's horrified face. He really didn't need Nino bringing up his "star" status, although with his face plastered all over Paris he supposed it wouldn't take them long to figure it out.

"So, we have a celebrity in our mists," Amanda teased the blonde who blushed. Marinette frowned at the exchange wondering if the girl was going to be competition for Adrien's attention.

"Aww, mein fraulien, don't give the poor boy a hard time," Kurt teased his girlfriend as he gave her squeeze. This caused another round of chuckles to go through the group.

"Anyway, the office is this way," Marinette turned and led the way as the group of 10 started towards the principal's office.

The group arrived with minimal issues. Some people were nice while others were cold or just plain walked away from the group as they approached. As the group walked into the office they found Mr. Damocles on the phone. He had his head in his hand and you could hear someone loudly complaining across the line.

"Yes, I understand Mayor Bourgeois. I am afraid that I cannot turn students away for that reason. It would be discrimination. If you have an issue with it you will need to speak with the President." He paused and listened for a second before saying, "I'm sure you are good friends with the President." He paused to listen again. "Well, once you have his backing I can do it but until then I have to answer to the Ministry of Education." Another pause. "Yes sir," and he hung up the phone. Looking at the group gathered at his door he waved them in.

"I am afraid I must apologize for making you wait. That call was important and couldn't wait."

"That's fine sir," Scott said as he looked around the office. It looked a lot like the office of the principal at Bayville High.

Mr. Damocles was pleased with the young man's manners. "I have your schedules right here. Scott and Jean," the redhead and the guy with red sunglasses stepped forward, "here are your schedules. Alya, can you please show them to their first period? Their class rep will make sure they know where the rest of their classes are from there." The brunette girl nodded her head as Mr. Damocles turned towards the rest of the students. "Kurt, Amanda, Katherine, and Rogue," he paused at the last name and double checked that he had it correct. "Umm, here are your schedules. Marinette here," he motioned to the bluenette at the back of the room, "is your class rep and will make sure you know where to find your classes. Now off to first period with all of you." He shooed them out the door before returning to paperwork on his desk.

The group exited the office. Alya motioned for Jean and Scott to follow her while Marinette looked over the other four's schedules. "Alright, Kurt it looks like most of your classes are going to be with Nino. Amanda most of your classes lines up with mine and Adrien's. Rogue and Kitty, you are pretty much split between my schedule and Alya's. Which means we all have Physical Education together on Friday's." Marinette smiled at the group before turning to lead the way to their homeroom class.

"We get an hour and twenty minutes for lunch. We also get a 20-minute break at 9:50 and 3:15. Lunch starts at noon. You are free to leave campus during the lunch break. If you want you can come with us to my parents' bakery for lunch today. Not to brag," she said with a friendly smile over her shoulder, "but my parents make **the best** croissants in the country."

Adrien and Nino let out a laugh before Adrien spoke up, "I would say the croissants aren't the only thing that they make the best of."

Rogue, Kitty, Kurt, and Amanda laughed along with the group while speculating on whether Adrien was only talking about the baked goods. Alya met up with them at the door to the classroom. With a questioning look she looked at the laughing group. "What did I miss," she inquired.

"Marinette and Adrien were telling us about the bakery. Marinette said that they made the best croissants while Adrien is under the impression that 'the croissants aren't the only thing they make the best of'," Kitty quoted the last part and winked at Alya who also started laughing. Marinette and Adrien were a little clueless as to what the two found so funny about that comment but they never got to ask as the warning bell for first period rang sending everyone into the classroom to find seats.

The regular class took their usual seats. Kurt slid onto the bench to sit with Adrien and Nino while Kitty sat with Marinette and Alya. After looking around Rogue went to sit with Juleka and Rose while Amanda moved to the back of the class to sit with Nathaniel. Once Ms. Bustier entered the classroom everyone turned their attention to the front of the classroom.

"We have a group of new students today," Ms. Bustier began. "Will Kurt, Rogue, Amanda, and Katherine please come to the front so the class can meet you?" With a sigh of agitation, the group stood and did as instructed. "This group is representing Bayville High. They will be staying with us for at least three months, please make them feel welcome."

Chloe scoffed from her seat in the front causing Ms. Bustier to frown in her direction, but she continued as if nothing happened. She turned to the four students in front of her, "Please introduce yourselves and tell a little about your lives in New York."

Kurt stepped forward first, "My name is Kurt and I'm originally from Germany but transferred to Bayville for the opportunities the Xavier Institute offered people like me. I have really enjoyed meeting more people with my interests and furthering my education."

As Kurt stepped back Amanda took a step forward, "My name is Amanda. I love my family and learning more about my heritage. We recently traced our family back to a band of Romanian gypsies that traveled to Africa and settled with my father's tribe. I also love history."

Amanda stepped back and Kitty stepped forward. "My name is Kitty Pryde. I'm, like, originally from Chicago, IL. My parents learned of the special opportunities available to me at the Xavier Institute and thought it would help broaden my horizons. It has been the best choice I've, like, made so far."

Kitty stepped back Rogue stepped forward with a slight eye roll. "Mah name is Rogue. Ah'm from Mississippi and was taken into the Xavier Institute after mah adoptive mother found out about the opportunities ah would have in New York."

Ms. Bustier and the rest of the class said a quick hello to the group before Ms. Bustier "Thank you. Please return to your seats so we can finish roll call and move into our lesson." Without another word the group went back to their seats.

The first part of the day went on without any issues. Once lunch time rolled around Adrien, Marinette, Alya and Nino waited on the front steps of the school for the Xavier group to meet up with them. Once everyone arrived Marinette led them towards her parents' bakery. As the group reached the bottom of the stairs they heard an irritating voice from behind them.

"Of course, Marinette would associate with lower beings. Adrikins, what are you doing? You're better then these losers. You should come to lunch with us."

"Chloe," Adrien sighed in annoyance. "I am going to ignore that remark and continue on my way." He turned around only to find a blonde tick attached to his arm. Marinette frowned and started to step forward but was beat to it by Rogue.

"Look you little scum sucking leech," she growled, "you had better back up and shut your mouth before ah get angry." She was pretty sure Wolverine would have been impressed with the amount of venom she put into those words without having to yell. "So ah'm only gonna tell ya this one more time. Back off our case or ah will make you regret ever crossing my path."

Chloe paled but refused to release her death grip on Adrien. Adrien was unsure of what to do. He did not like the way Chloe was treating the newcomers but at the same time he didn't understand why Rogue was being so antagonistic towards Chloe. He put himself between the two girls while prying Chloe off his arm. Looking at his longtime friend he frowned as he told her, "They haven't done anything to you. Now go on home and enjoy your lunch." He then turned with another frown at Rogue. "Why are you being so aggressive to her?"

Rogue met his glare with one of her own, "Ah've had to deal with bigots like this little tramp ever since ah got mah powers. Ah am sick and tired of putting up with their crap so if ah can do something about it ah will."

Kitty stepped up behind Rogue and carefully put her hand on her shoulder, "Rogue, I, like, think you should talk with the professor. I know you, like, don't like dealing with bigots but this is over aggressive even for you." Lowering her voice so no one else could hear she asked, "Are the psyches acting up or is this something from Steamroller?"

Rogue just shrugged her hand off, "Sorry guys, ah guess ah'm having more issues adjusting to the new time zone then ah originally thought. Ah will not apologize to her though. Let's go get some food. Maybe ah'm just hangry."

The group let it drop as Marinette once again started leading them to the bakery. Scott pulled Jean to the back of the group to ask, "Are you getting anything from Rogue that would indicate what is going on with her?"

Jean shook her head, "No. I am, however, sensing more thought patterns then 10. I believe there are two people/things that are hanging around that we can't see."

"Could Ladybug and Chat Noir be watching us from somewhere nearby?" Scott scanned the building around them trying to discern where the heroes could be hiding.

Jean was shaking her head again. "No, this is different but similar at the same time. Marinette and Adrien both had familiar thought patterns but I couldn't place where I would have known them from. But now I can sense another couple of similar but unknown patterns. I honestly think that Marinette and Adrien are Ladybug and Chat Noir."

Scott studied the two students as they approached the bakery and opened the doors. He could kind of see the similarities between the two students and the two heroes. "Should we let them know that we know who they are?"

"I'm not sure," Jean replied. "I think it would be best to wait until we know them a little better before letting the cat out of the bag as it was." Jean sent Scott a proud smile at her pun. Scott chuckled as the followed the rest of the group inside.

Marinette introduced everyone to her parents Tom and Sabine. Kurt was in heaven with all the food to choose from and ended up taking some of just about everything. Everyone else choose either ham or turkey croissants while Kitty had a cheese croissant. As they all ate Marinette filled the newcomers in on Nino's gig for Friday.

"It's going to be so awesome! You guys should come too!" Marinette looked towards Alya and Adrien for support. Her friends nodded with their mouths full.

Kurt, who's mouth was currently stuffed with a chocolate croissant, tried to speak but only managed to blow crumbs out of his mouth. And of course, Rogue happened to be sitting directly across from him.

"Seriously Kurt," she exclaimed as she jumped up to avoid more crumbs. "Ah know that you have better manners then that! Don't make me tell Ororo to give you etiquette lessons." Rogue smirked at the look of fear that crossed her adopted brother's face.

Kurt swallowed his food quickly before begging, "Please don't mein sister. You do remember what happened the last time someone didn't mind their manners. That woman is scary when she is mad." Kurt shivered and everyone at the table laughed.

"Ororo is only, like, scary when you don't do what you are supposed to Kurt," Kitty giggled.

"Or if you crush her flowers," Jean added with her own laugh.

"Alright," Alya said after the laughter died down, "I can't take it anymore. What are your guys' powers?"

The six mutants stopped eating and looked at Alya before looking around to see who had heard. Luckily, all the customers seemed to be engrossed in their own meals or talking to each other.

"Alya," Marinette hissed at her best friend. Alya blushed and lowered her voice.

"I just love superheroes," Alya admitted shyly.

Amanda looked at the group before saying, "If no one else has any objections I say we let them come over and watch training tonight. Logan wouldn't mind, would he?"

"No," Scott said instantly. "It's too dangerous for civilians to be around even when it is just practice."

The four friends looked sad at that. "It would be cool to watch you guys, dudes. Especially if I don't have to worry about keeping Alya out of danger," Nino commented.

Scott and Rogue frowned at the thought. Kitty and Kurt added their own support to Amanda's suggestion thinking it would be nice to have more friends at school who knew what they could do.

Jean added, "Scott, it might not be a bad idea. They are being very supportive of us even though they know what we are. It would be helpful to have a few more sets of eyes helping us keep a look out for you know what."

Scott sighed, "Contact the professor before we make any decisions."

 _No need Scott,_ all the X-Men heard. _I believe that Jean's suggestion is a good one. Have the students get permission from their parents and they will ride with you to the manor._

The group nodded and then Kitty spoke up. "Do you guys think you can come over after school today? The Professor wants to meet you guys."

"Umm, how do you know that?" Alya wondered.

Kitty giggled, "He's a telepath and apparently was figuring something like this would happen since he sorta just, like, told us what he thought."

The four classmates looked at each other warily. "Don't worry," Jean hastened to assure them. "He only enters someone's mind with permission. He's just very familiar with our way of thinking and it doesn't take much to get his attention."

This helped the group to relax. "I'll go ask my parents right now. Alya, Nino, and Adrien did you want to use to store phone to contact your folks?"

"Umm, I don't think I will be making it tonight," Adrien said regretfully. "I have a photo shoot at 5 in the park."

"A photo shoot?" Kitty looked excited. "Can I, like watch it? Or is that too weird?"

Adrien smiled kindly at the brunette. "No, it's alright. Quite a few people usually stop to watch anyway. But if you guys have to get home I'll just catch up to you next time."

"Why don't you call your dad and see if you can come over after the shoot?" Jean suggested as she took a piece of paper and wrote down their address.

Adrien took the paper and stepped outside to make the call. When he came back in he was smiling. "He says as long as it doesn't affect my grades or the quality of the shoot I can head over afterwards. But, I won't be there until around 6:30."

"Great," Marinette was glad that Adrien would be able to join them. Anytime she could spend more time with him was a plus. She was hoping to get up the nerve to ask him out to a movie.

"Supper isn't until seven so you'll be just in time," Amanda sent a friendly smile towards the blonde making Marinette frown. Amanda turned towards Kurt, "Are we going to go dancing on Friday night then? You still owe me after last years interrupted Sadie Hawkins dance."

Kurt smiled at his girlfriend. "Sure, we can go boogie the night away."

Rogue huffed, "Count me out. Y'all know ah don't do big crowds."

"Well, I think it sounds like fun. But I don't have anything to wear," Kitty butted in.

"We're going shopping for new clothes tomorrow," Alya told her. "You and Amanda should come with us. And you two as well," She turned towards Rogue and Jean. "It'll be a good chance to get to know you guys better even if you aren't going."

"We will have to check with the Professor tonight. It might not be a good idea for us to go out to a dance club," Jean reminded the others.

Scott checked the time and saw it was time for them to head back towards the school. Everybody thanked Marinette's parents and praised their pastries before heading back to the school house.

At the end of the day to X-Men were exhausted but knew that Logan was waiting for them get back to the manor for training. Marinette asked Ororo to stop by her parents' bakery so that she could get snacks for everyone and then they were on their way. Alya was beside herself with excitement. She couldn't believe she was actually going to watch some of her heroes training for battle.

"So, why are you guys in Paris," Alya questioned as they drove.

"We'll explain everything at dinner, dear," Ororo stated as she turned into the drive of the manor. "It's just easier to explain to everyone at the same time."

Alya pouted but only for a second as she gawked at the house they stopped in front of. "This place is gorgeous!" Nino and Marinette nodded in agreement. As they got out of the car they were greeted by a short man dressed in an orange and dark blue outfit with a matching mask that came to two points on either side of his head. He had a cigar stuck between his teeth as he leaned against the door frame.

"'Bout time you guys got here. Suit up and meet me in back in five minutes." With that he turned and walked towards the rear of the house. The X-Men ran up the stairs and disappeared in the house so that they weren't late. Alya and Nino had unconsciously stepped behind Marinette when Wolverine had appeared on the porch.

Ororo turned to the three remaining students standing on the porch. "Come on and I will show you where you can wait while Logan runs them through the training program." They nodded and followed the African goddess through the house to the back yard. It was even larger than the front yard!

As they sat down on the patio they were wondering what kind of training they could possibly have with only open space. They did take notice of the white circle that was about a mile wide in the middle of the yard. Once the mutants appeared they were met by Logan who gave them a run down of what to expect. The students nodded to their teacher. As the four bystanders watched the sky darkened and automated defensives rose out of the ground and focused on the mutants. The watching teens gasped as lightening suddenly struck next to where the teenage heroes were standing. As a single unit, the team started working on taking out the defense system while dodging lightning bolts and huge gusts of winds.

"WHERE DID ALL THIS WEATHER COME FROM," Nino yelled at the girls next to him.

"I THINK IT'S BECAUSE OF HER," Marinette pointed to the sky where they saw Ororo suspended with her eyes glowing white as she held another blast of lightning in her hand.

"NO WONDER KURT DIDN'T WANT TO MAKE HER MAD," Alya commented as she zoomed in on Storm.

The group was about halfway through the gauntlet Wolverine had set up when suddenly the game seemed to change. The turrets went back underground when the team entered the white circle on the yard. They were now facing off against two new people. The first had a handful of cards in his hands that suddenly began to glow a magenta color. The other person looked to stand around 7 feet tall and was covered in metal.

The mutants stopped and regrouped as they reevaluated the playing field. "Really? Gambit, what are you guys doing here and why do you think the two of you can take on the six of us," Rogue demanded as she stood with her hands on her hips.

The Cajun grinned at the southerner. "Aww, c'mon Cherie. Ya can't tell moi dat you aren't happy to see dis swamp rat, can ya?"

"Ah believe ah just did. Did your daddy kick you outta N'Awlins again?" Rogue smirked at the Cajun as his eyes narrowed.

"Dats a low blow cher." With that he proceeded to throw the charged cards towards the group. The explosion sent them diving in different directions. Kurt had moved to Amanda and 'ported her out of the way when Remy attacked.

When the couple reappeared, they were standing behind the duo. As Amanda set up a magical bolt to send them flying Wolverine pounced from behind and knocked her to the side causing the bolt to go wild. Luckily Jean was paying attention because she was able to deflect the wild bolt that was headed right towards the spectators.

Kurt rounded on Logan as the feral mutant charged at the blue elf. "Herr Logan, don't you think you were a bit harsh on Amanda?"

Wolverine just growled as her released his claws and swung at the elf. Nightcrawler had teleported just in time and grabbed Amanda as she groaned and rubbed her head where she had hit it when Logan pushed her.

"Elf, you know as well as I do that our enemies do not pull their punches. With Amanda as part of the group she is going to have to get up to speed or she could be a liability."

Kurt glared at Logan before teleporting with Amanda to the back of Jean and Scott. Rogue and Gambit were currently engaged in hand to hand combat while Colossus wasn't having much luck getting to Kitty. He finally had her distracted enough for dodging his blows that she didn't anticipate that he would swing down "through" her and create a hole causing her to lose her balance once she was unphased. Jean caught her with her telekinesis while Scott shot Piotr with an eye beam. Logan had kept to the side and once the opening presented itself he quickly dispatched Scott. Once Scott was down he headed for Kitty. Luckily, Kitty had been keeping up with her Ninjutsu training and was able to dodge the attack before phasing through a tree. Logan sliced through the tree with a growl which provided Kitty with a thick limb to use as a weapon. She quickly feinted and twirled low taking Logan down with a blow to the back of the knees.

She wasted no time in returning to the group. Rogue had been knocked out of the game by Gambit and he went to join Piotr. Kurt, Jean and Kitty were the only X-Men left in the "game" at this point in the training. Gambit wasted no time in throwing the exploding cards at the trio while Piotr took the distraction as a chance to pummel the ground in front of Jean, throwing her backwards. She managed to catch herself before she hit the ground and threw a telepathic blast towards the armored man which knocked him backwards and out of the game.

Kurt 'ported behind Gambit and grabbed onto the red eyed Cajun. Remy grabbed his staff and started to swing it around only to find himself about 5 feet above the ground. He hit the ground and rolled into a crouch as he looked around for the next attack. He didn't have to wait long as Jean sent a telekinetic force field his way knocking him on his back and outside of the arena. That left 3 to one.

Alya was recording the whole thing while trying not to fan girl. Marinette was watching and taking notes for future sparing sessions with Chat. Nino was just sitting there with his jaw on the floor.

Wolverine was currently engaged with the three remaining mutants. Kurt was the next one out. Wolverine anticipated where he was going to teleport and knocked him out. Kitty fell next, she phased through a punch before turning solid to throw one of her own but didn't anticipate Wolverine ducking and throwing her over his shoulder out of the ring. Logan turned with a grin at Jean. Jean raised her arms and floated into the air. Logan went into a crouch waiting for her to make the first move. Jean sent a blast in his general direction causing Logan to dodge to the left. With him distracted Jean sent a mental blast towards where he was jumping to which blasted him out the arena.

"Not bad," Logan said as he gained his feet. "Kurt, you need to get over your hang up of protecting Amanda. She is a part of this team now and has to be able to stand on her own. The rest of you need to work on your conditioning. You're all winded and we were only at this for an hour. How are you going to hold up against Steamroller when we face him? You guys know that battle is going to be our hardest yet.

"Go get cleaned up for supper. We will be having our usual morning session before school tomorrow." Logan smiled as the group of teens groaned and worked their way back into the house to clean up.

"What did you think of the training session?" The three spectators jumped and turned to see Professor Xavier approaching in his wheel chair.

"It was AMAZING," Alya screamed with Nino and Marinette grinning broadly in the background. "Thank you so much for letting us come over and watch this!"

The professor smiled fondly at the excited brunette. "If you will follow me we will meet up with the X-Men in the dining hall." He looked towards the front door, "Marinette, will you be a dear and open the door for Adrien?" As the professor finished his sentence the doorbell rang.

"I don't think I will ever get used to that," Marinette gave a shy smile to the professor before heading to the door and letting Adrien in. "Adrien, you are not going to believe what you missed. Alya recorded the whole thing! It was amazing to watch!"

Adrien grinned at the bluenette talking to him as they rejoined the group. He was so glad that she wasn't still stuttering around him. As she became more comfortable around him and opened up more he found she was a wonderful girl. If he hadn't already been in love with Ladybug he was sure he would have fallen for Marinette. Although, there were times when the way Marinette acted reminded Adrien of his lady.

"Alya, I am going to have to get a copy of that to watch. How long was it?" Adrien questioned as he looked over the group.

"It was a little over an hour. They just finished off. Apparently, they aren't in good enough shape dude so the scary one told them they had training before school tomorrow," Nino informed as he took in his surroundings.

"Harsh," Adrien sympathized. "Sounds like something my dad would do if I was training for a competition."

Nino chuckled as he fist bumped with Adrien. They made it to the dining room just as the first of the X-Men walked in. Scott and Jean had changed back into more comfortable clothing for lounging around the rest of the evening.

Storm walked in from the kitchen carrying a couple of platters of food. Scott and Jean headed into the kitchen to help carry out the rest of the food. The professor motioned for the four teens to take a seat as the rest of the team walked in. Logan had changed back into jeans and a flannel shirt while the rest of the team had also changed into lounging clothing.

"I know you have meet Scott, Jean, Rogue, Kitty, Amanda, and Kurt. Now I would like to introduce you to Logan, Ororo, Remy, and Piotr. And this is Alya, Nino, Adrien, and Marinette." The professor pointed to each individual as he spoke.

Everyone exchanged the usual pleasantries before the professor announced it was time to eat. It was pandemonium as the teens all jockeyed for the dishes they wanted. Once everyone had their plate full of food and had settled down the professor turned his attention to the four French students.

"I am glad that my students have found four great people at their new school." The four teens smiled shyly not quite sure how to take the compliment. "It is very refreshing to know that there are good people in all corners of the globe. However, Alya had asked earlier why we had come here. As we explained to Ladybug and Chat Noir last night we are here to stop a new threat." He proceeded to tell the teens the story of his step brother and the green stone of Cytorrak. "We were hoping you could help us keep an eye out for anyone acting differently."

The four teens nodded. "It will be great working with you guys," Alya declared. "Maybe something will come up tomorrow on our shopping trip." Alya smiled at the girls around the table.

"Shopping?" The professor questioned.

"Nino is DJing at a club this Friday," Kitty explained. "Amanda and I want to go with but of course we would, like, need some more appropriate clothing. Can we go?"

The professor looked at Storm and Logan. Logan shook his head while Storm just shrugged. "I don't see where it would be an issue. How many of you are going?"

"Amanda, Kurt, Piotr and me so far," Kitty replied.

Jean looked at Scott, "Would you like to go? It sounds like fun."

Scott shrugged. "Sounds like fun and we probably shouldn't split the team up more than usual."

Jean looked a little put off by his reasoning but decided that at least she would be able to get him there and maybe work on loosening him up some.

Remy had managed to get his seat next to Rogue and now put his arm around her shoulders. "Ma Cherie and ah will be dere. Ah don't ever pass up de chance for some partying."

Rogue rolled her eyes and pushed his hand off her shoulder. "Ah'm not going swamp rat," she growled at him. "Ya know ah don't do crowds. Besides, if ah'm there how are you gonna find the bimbo you're gonna go home with?"

Remy glared at the striped hair girl. "And why would Remy go looking for another femme when you're right there?"

Rogue rolled her eyes before getting up and storming out. Remy made to go after her but stopped when Logan growled at him. "You stay put Gumbo. She needs a little time to cool down."

The four guests shared a look wondering why Rogue was so worked up over going dancing. Logan glanced at them, "If you have questions take it up with Rogue. It's her life so she should be the one to tell you." Seeing their confused looks he said, "Teen emotions are easy to smell and curiosity is one of the most common."

"Just when I start to relax they go and do the woo woo stuff," Nino whispered to Adrien who nodded in agreement.

After supper was finished it was time for the kids to get home. Ororo offered to drive them but they declined since Adrien's bodyguard was there and willing to drop them off. Everyone said their goodbyes and headed off to bed. Morning was going to arrive earlier then the teen superheroes were ready for.

 **XXXXXXX**

 **This was a long chapter! I'm hoping it doesn't move too slowly. Now that the group is "friends" the story should move along a little smoother. I'm looking forward to the shopping portion tomorrow. Creating outfits for characters is one of my most favorite part of writing stories. I just wish I could draw some of the designs that come into my head. If any of you are talented and want to give my outfits a go please feel free. Just make sure you let me know where to find them.** 😊 **Thanks and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next day of school went off without a hitch. The Xavier group was exhausted after Logan's training session that morning. Luckily for them the Professor decided that an evening off would be beneficial for them. Unfortunately, that meant Logan was allowed to schedule 2 training sessions for the next day.

"I'm, like, not even going to be able to move Friday for dancing," Kitty whined as the girls walked to the Metro to get to the shopping center Alya wanted to go to.

"Tell me about it," Amanda agreed. "I'm not used to getting such a physical workout. Most of the stuff Dr. Strange teaches me is about mental control and strengthening. If I had known you guys were going to need my help one day I would have started some strength training or something!"

Marinette and Alya chuckled at the girls complaining while secretly being glad that they were not in their shoes. As the group walked Marinette and Alya dropped back to talk with Rogue.

"How are you feeling today?" Marinette had asked Kitty about Rogue earlier but only received a shrug from the Valley girl while she stated that Rogue went through these moods sometimes and that she would ask for help if it got to be too much to handle on her own. Marinette didn't like the idea of someone suffering alone so she had roped Alya into helping her learn more about the southern mutant.

Rogue looked up and seemed to be surprised as to where they were. "Ah'm fine Mari. Ah think ah'm just going through some growing pains with my powers."

"I'm not even going to pretend I would know what that is like," Alya commented. "Can you explain? Maybe we could come up with some new ways to help."

Rogue smiled at the girls. "You gals are sweet but if the professor can't help me control mah powers or the voices in mah head ah doubt that you can."

Marinette and Alya exchanged startled glances. They had no idea that Rogue couldn't control her powers. Heck, they weren't even sure what her powers did.

Alya was the first to speak up, "Can you explain how your powers work?"

Rogue sighed. She figured she might as well tell them and get it over with. She had hoped nobody would ask and she could walk around without everyone making sure they had enough distance between them and her. "Well, ah absorb thoughts, abilities, and characteristics of the people ah touch. In some cases ah can take on physical attributes as well."

Kitty had dropped back with the three and added, "You should have seen her when she had to absorb Sabertooth. It took her forever to get rid of all the hair that grew everywhere!" Kitty started laughing and Rogue joined in.

"The worst part was ah had just shaved mah legs the day before and ah had to do it all over again." Marinette and Alya were a little confused as to what a Sabertooth was but was happy to see Rogue smile. Unfortunately that didn't last long as she went back to her story, "Mah powers first showed up at a school dance in Mississippi. Ah was there with my crush Cody when someone bumped into him causing him to bump into me. I absorbed quite a bit that night, ah left the dance disoriented and thinking that ah was Cody. The poor boy is still in a coma and the doctors don't think he'll ever wake up." She looked at the ground to hide the tears threatening to spill over. "That was over a year ago and ah still can't touch anyone skin to skin without knocking them out."

Marinette and Alya wanted to cry for the girl next to them. _No wonder she doesn't want to go to the club,_ Marinette thought. "I'm so sorry Rogue." Marinette reached out and hugged the mutant.

Rogue was shocked and didn't pull out the hug right away. As soon as she realized what had happened she quickly put some distance between herself and bluenette. "Didn't you listen to mah story?" Rogue snapped at her. "Why would you hug me after that? What if I had absorbed you too?"

Marinette looked startled by her outburst. "I just wanted to make you feel better. You're all covered on your arms and shoulders so I didn't think it would be an issue." Marinette looked like she wanted to cry which made Rogue feel bad for snapping at her.

"Ah'm sorry," Rogue mumbled. "Ah'm just not used to anyone willingly touching me."

"Except Gambit," Kitty added.

"Is that why you snap at him," Alya questioned.

Rogue nodded before correcting herself, "Well, that's partially the cause. The other part is because he is an insufferable flirt who kidnapped me and tricked me into helping him with some family issues in N'Awlins. All he had to do was ask for mah help. 'Course ah probably wouldn't have helped but that is beside the point. He's also the self appointed "God's gift to women" and just sees my situation as a challenge that needs to be won before moving on."

"Wait," Alya held a hand up to stop the girls. "He _kidnapped_ you and they are still letting him hang out with you guys?"

Rogue just looked at her kinda funny. "He did it to get help for his father. It wasn't like he was gonna rape and murder me. It was a case of good intentions, bad execution," Rogue shrugged.

Alya hid a small grin thinking that the southern mutant wasn't being completely honest with herself about her feelings for the Cajun. She would have to see what she could do about that.

Since Rogue had shared her secret, Marinette decided to let Rogue in on a secret of her own. "I'll let you in on a secret about me," she said softly to Rogue. "I have a HUGE crush on Adrien and it was only in the last few weeks I've been able to talk to him without stuttering like an idiot."

"It's true," Alya nodded vigorously. "I was beginning to think I was going to have to take drastic measures to get the girl to loosen up around him." The four girls laughed.

"You know," Alya said with a twinkle in her eye, "Mari does a great job designing clothes. I bet she could make you something to wear to the club that would knock "God's gift" for a loop."

Rogue looked doubtful. "Thanks for trying to cheer me up but ah don't want her to go to the trouble."

"It's no trouble," Marinette assured. "I've almost finished the dress I'm going to wear. I'll start working on some sketches as we ride the metro. I'll make you a deal. If I can design a dress that you love then you will go dancing with us on Friday."

Rogue gave a small smile as the girls stepped onto the subway. "Fine, ah'll take your deal. But ah am super picky about mah clothes so good luck."

Kitty and Marinette squealed while Alya just smirked with a knowing look. As the six girls rode the Metro to the shops at Centre commercial Beaugrenelle, Marinette got started on her challenge. She didn't figure it would be that hard to come up with something Rogue would wear. She was so engrossed in her work that she almost missed their stop. Luckily Alya was paying attention and pulled her off the train with the others.

"Show me what you have so far," Alya suggested as they exited the Metro and headed up to street level. Marinette handed Alya her sketch book and Alya whooped. "She's going to love it!"

"You think so? I wasn't sure about the bare skin around the cleavage." Marinette studied her design a little longer. "I would like to change a few more things before showing it to her though." Alya nodded and handed the book back to her best friend before motioning the others to follow her into the first shop. As the group wandered around and looked at clothes Marinette watched. She was waiting for inspiration to hit so she could figure out what the sketch was missing.

When they had found out yesterday that Nino would be DJing she had taken a design she had already been working on and made a few modifications so she could wear it on Friday. When she got home from shopping she still had an hour to do some sewing before going out on patrol. She would have to work hard on Thursday to get her and Rogue's outfits ready for Friday.

She was still thinking about how to get all the work done in 2 days when she saw something that caught her eye. She walked over and pulled it off the rack to examine it closer before putting it back and going out of the store to sit on a bench and finish her design.

As the rest of the group walked around trying to find the perfect outfit there was a commotion at the back of the store. "I ordered these boots a week ago and now that they are here they don't fit!" A woman shrieked at the saleswoman helping her.

"I'm sorry miss but this is the size that you ordered. If you want I can order you another pair at no cost but it will take another week to get in." The sales clerk looked uncomfortable as everyone turned to look at the scene the customer was causing.

"Unacceptable," the woman scoffed. She had blonde hair that hung down to her waist with the sides pinned back with a golden barrette. "I demand to get those boots in my size right now."

Alya grimaced before whispering to Amanda, "That could be Chloe's mom." Amanda nodded her agreement as she turned back to the rack of dresses and tried to ignore the scene being caused.

The argument between the two women kept getting louder until the manager came out and tried to calm the woman down. The employee was an emotional wreck as the customer tried to tell the manager that she should be fired right away for being incompetent. The employee runs to the back with her hands over her face to hide the tears.

As the employee tries to calm herself down she doesn't notice the purple butterfly that lands on her name tag. A pink/purple outline of a butterfly appears over the woman's eyes before she says, "Yes Hawkmoth." A dark purple cloud covers the employee before dissolving to show the woman had been transformed. Where once she had wavy dark brown hair pulled back into a bun it now hung down her back in a light blue braid. Her skin had lost its rosy color to be replaced with snow white skin. Her lips were colored the same color as her hair with a darker shade of eyeshadow over her blue eyes. She wore a long white dress that hung to the floor with a split starting just above the knees and shimmered in the lights as she moved. On her feet were an exact copy of the boots the customer had been yelling at her about. With an icy blast of air Chill Out exited the back room searching for the source of her anger.

At the back of the store Amanda and Alya had finally found their perfect outfits for Friday. Amanda's was an ombre wine-colored asymmetrical mini dress. The right shoulder was left bare while the other was a flutter of light wine-colored material that stopped just below the elbow. The top and skirt of the dress hugged her curves. It started off as a light wine-color with a light smattering of glitter while gradually darkening as it went lower, ending in a dark red wine with a plethora of glitter on the skirt.

Alya's dress was a cinnabar red halter top dress with a tear drop cutout out in the middle of the chest. The dress was trimmed in gold with a gold belt circling the waist. The straps for the back of the dress crisscrossed the back leaving most of it uncovered. The skirt flared out slightly at the hips so it came up some as you twirled and stopped a couple of inches above the knees with a slit up the right-hand side that stopped a little above mid-thigh so that when you twirled it flared even more.

As the girls started towards the dressing room to try on said dresses the door to the back room was blown off its hinges and an akuma walked out of the back room screaming in anger for the bothersome customer. Both girls jumped for cover. Alya tried to get her phone out to start recording while Amanda snuck back to the rest of the group to get help.

Marinette heard screaming coming from inside the store where her friends were shopping and jumped up to look in and see the door fly into the store. "Looks like Hawk Moth decided he'd had enough time off," Marinette quietly said to Tikki while looking for a safe place to transform. She ran to the store next door and managed to duck into the changing room to transform. "Tikki, spots on!"

Once her transformation was complete she raced back to the store to face the Akuma. She saw that the X-Men had slowed her down some but she had frozen Rogue and Amanda to the wall. Kitty was currently ushering the cornered customers out of the store while Jean had a force field around the woman who called herself Chill Out. When they saw Ladybug, they gave her a quick smile.

Jean gave her a quick rundown of the situation. "It's too hard to get into her mind with Hawk Moth in there. Although, I do believe that I can recognize Hawk Moth whether he is transformed or not now that I have tried to touch his mind."

"That will be a great help later. Do you know where the Akuma is?" Ladybug was looking for the item the akuma had landed on when she noticed a dark purple item hidden under the blue braid that had just swung off her shoulder as Chill Out kept circling trying to blast out of the bubble Jean had created.

"Found it! I'm going to need you to distract her while I get the item. Usually that's Cat's job but since he isn't here we'll improvise." Jean nodded and dropped the shield. With her not having to keep the girl contained she quickly broke Rogue and Amanda out of their ice cocoons but they were so cold they weren't going to be much help.

Kitty had evacuated all the trapped people and came back into the fight. She phased down through the floor and reappeared at Chill Out's feet pulling them down so that she couldn't move any further. This caused her to scream in frustration. She took a deep breath before pushing out with her arms causing the floor to turn into an ice rink. This caused Kitty to get stuck in the floor as well since the cold made it more difficult to concentrate on keeping herself phased. It also made the floor brittle enough for her to free her own feet while Kitty worked on getting herself out of the floor. Jean had floated up off the floor and sent a blast towards the frozen villain knocking her off balance and giving Ladybug the chance to get close enough to grab the akumatized item.

Once she grabbed the name tag she dropped it on the floor and stomped on it, freeing the black and purple butterfly. "No more evildoing for you little akuma," Ladybug said as she split her yoyo and started twirling it. "Time to de-evilize! Gotcha," she exclaims as she traps the akuma in the yoyo. "Bye bye little butterfly," she gives a small wave as a pure white butterfly flies out of the now open yoyo. "Miraculous ladybug!" Ladybug exclaims as she throws her yoyo into the air. A swarm of pink and red goes around fixing everything that was destroyed as the saleswoman returns to normal.

The saleswoman looks around before asking, "What happened?" Ladybug knelt beside her and let her know what had happened just as the police show up. They take the newly de-transformed woman and walk her out of the store to talk with the special therapist they now had on staff for the akuma victims.

Marinette waves at the group before running out of the store to find somewhere to de-transform. As she walked back in a couple of minutes later she sees her friends continuing to shop as if nothing had happened. She supposed a little fight like that was no big deal after all the training Logan put them through. As Amanda and Alya went to the register to purchase their dresses the rest of the group moved out to the main walkway to wait for them.

Marinette entered the next store with the rest of her friends and headed back to the section that housed shoes and jewelry. She may make clothes and hats but she still had to buy shoes and jewelry. She looked around and found the shoes and some jewelry she wanted to complete her outfit for Friday.

"Rogue," the bluenette called. "I finished my idea for your outfit. Will you please take a look and let me know what you think?"

Rogue came over and took the book she was offered. When she saw the design, she could only stare. "It's perfect!"

"Really? That's fantastic!" Marinette did a happy dance that drew the attention of her friends.

"What's fantastic?" Jean looked over Rogue's shoulder and saw the design. "Oh, Marinette, that's gorgeous! You made this? Today?"

Alya smirked proudly. "I knew you could do it Marinette! It's too bad we don't have more time so you could make all of our dresses!"

Marinette smiled shyly. "Thanks guys. I just hope I have enough time to do Rogue's dress justice. I just need her to pick out shoes and jewelry to finish it off."

"Ah think ah saw some boots over here that will go with it. And ah have the perfect bracelets so it's just a matter of finding a necklace." Rogue turned and walked towards the shoe section. Kitty took a good look at the design and headed after her to help her find the perfect pair.

"Thank you, Marinette," Kitty whispered as she went to join the gothic mutant. She was glad to see her friend smile and excited about something.

"No problem," Marinette responded. "I'm glad she liked it. It's good to see her smiling."

After everyone had seen the sketch they split up to resume the search for their own dancing dresses. Alya found some jewelry to go with her dress but Amanda didn't find anything else. Jean had some good luck though.

She found a mini dress that showed off her figure and long legs. The form fitting gold layer was covered with a looser green chiffon layer. The dress has 2 spaghetti straps with the gold layer showing at the bust line. The green material covered the rest of the dress down to an inch above the end of the skirt which was just the gold layer once more. The skirt stopped just short of mid-thigh. There was matching gold bow tied around the waist. She also found a matching pair of gold strappy sandals, gold bangle bracelets and earrings. She still needed to find a necklace though.

As they went to the next shop Kitty was finally able to find her dress. It was a pink, lacy, off the shoulder dress that reached to mid-thigh. The sleeves were small lacy bell sleeves that hung down to just below her elbow. The top was designed like a tube top while the skirt flared out slightly and fell in the same floral design as the sleeves. She also found some Grecian sandals that matched the color of her dress.

Marinette and Rogue also found the shoes they needed to complete their outfits. With that store finished they decided to stop by a shoe store where Amanda saw the perfect pair of heels for her dress. Alya did some looking around and also found some strappy sandals that went well with her dress.

After that shop, the girls decided to hit one of the restaurants before hitting the jewelry store. After some debate, they settled on Noura. After they ordered they turned their attention to planning out the details of Friday night. "The club doesn't open until 11 p.m. so we will have plenty of time after school to get ready." Marinette looked at the girls. "Which is good because I still have to make Rogue's outfit. Since I have to do that we could get ready at my place and then meet up with the guys at the club."

"That works for me," Alya agreed. "How about you guys?"

The four X-Men looked at each other and nodded. "We'll have to come by later though. Logan is going to be putting us through a quick training session before we get ready."

"Well that stinks for you guys," Marinette said as she pulled a face. "But it'll give me a chance to do the finishing touches on the dresses so we can see Rogue's face when it's ready to be put on." The girls all grinned at Rogue who just grinned back.

"Ah'm hoping to knock a certain Cajun down off'a his high horse," Rogue said with a mischievous grin.

"Girl, with that dress you'll have all the guys at the club drooling after you," Alya teased causing Marinette to frown.

"I didn't think about that," she muttered.

Rogue reached out and covered Marinette's hand with her gloved one, "Don't worry. Ah'm not gonna try to steal Adrien from ya. Do you have a sketch of the dress you'll be wearing?"

Marinette nodded and pulled out her sketch book. Flipping through the pages she finally found what she was looking for and showed the girls the design. "You are gonna look amazing," Kitty cried. "If that doesn't get Adrien's attention then the boy is just a hopeless cause." That statement caused all the girls to giggle.

"We're beginning to think being homeschool for so much of his life has left him a little too innocent to even think about that kind of stuff," Alya said while trying to keep a straight face.

"I don't think it is just Adrien," Jean commented with a wave of her hand. "Scott can be a bit dense as well."

"Like, what do you mean Scott can be dense?" Kitty cried only to be shushed by the others before continuing in a quieter voice. "Girl, he like, fawned over you for the past year while you were dating that jerk Duncan!"

Jean blushed at that. "He didn't really did he?"

The other three Americans looked at the redhead like she had sprung a second head. "I thought you were supposed to be a telepath," Amanda said while rolling her eyes. "How did you not know that Scott was into you? I didn't know you guys very well then but even I knew he had a crush on you." This caused Jean's blush to deepen.

Trying to get the attention away from herself she asks, "Alya, is there someone special you are trying to impress on Friday?"

Now it was Alya's turn to blush. "Well, I am kinda hoping to maybe find out what Nino thinks about me." She twiddled her fingers as she refused to look at anyone, especially Marinette as the girl started to bounce in the seat next to her.

"I knew it!" Marinette crowed. "I knew that you liked him since Ladybug locked you guys into that cage together last year." She started giggling and began planning how to hook the two of them up.

"Ummm, ah'm confused," Rogue interrupted her thoughts. "Why did Ladybug lock Alya and Nino in a cage at the zoo?"

"Oh, that was back towards the beginning of last school year," Marinette started. "You see, apparently, Nino thought he had a crush on me so he asked Adrien for help asking me out. Although Nino just stood there frozen like a statue so Adrien did the asking." Marinette got a dreamy look on her face as she remembered Adrien asking if she wanted to go to the zoo.

Alya took over the story from there with a twinkle in her eye as she also shook her head at the star struck girl, "And Marinette had such a dazed expression on her face from that thought (kinda like the one she has now)", that got her a smack in the arm from said friend, "that I had to let Adrien know that she would be there. But Marinette freaked out when she found out I wasn't going to be there to help her so we decided to use the headset walkie talkie things so I could coach her without being there. Long story short, Nino had done the same thing so Adrien was also there doing the same thing for Nino. It was a mess! Then my dad got akumatized and started letting the animals out of the cage and things got really crazy and Ladybug locked me and Nino in a cage together to keep us away from the animals."

The four X-Women just sat there staring at the two before busting out laughing. About that time their food showed up so they tried to get themselves back under control. The two French students just looked at each and shrugged before digging into their food.

"Ah can't believe your dad got akumatized," Rogue said as her laughter died down.

"That's the thing," Marinette said as she turned to the striped haired mutant. "It's become such a regular occurrence that nobody really thinks twice about the akumas showing up. In fact, Adrien and I are the only 2 in our class that hasn't been akumatized." The girls looked shocked at this statement.

"How often do these akumas show up?" Jean questioned.

"About every other day or so. Sometimes more often," Marinette said with a shrug. The four shook their heads. As everyone ate the subject kept jumping to different topics. Once everyone was done they asked for the bills.

After they paid their bills they walked down the hallway towards the shops that sold jewelry. "After we get done here I need to stop and get material for the dresses." Marinette stopped to look in the window of a fine jewelry shop. There was a beautiful golden necklace with a ladybug charm on it in the window. If she wasn't worried about revealing her secret identity by wearing it she would have been seriously tempted to buy it. Shaking her head sadly she hurried to catch up with the rest of the group.

They hit two more shops where the girls found their jewelry pieces they needed for Friday before deciding to call it a night. The girls walked with Marinette to the fabric store so Rogue could pay for the material it was going to take to make her dress. The group looked around at all the beautiful fabric. "You know, sometimes I wish I had taken up sewing," Amanda commented as she pulled out a sparkling purple fabric. The others nodded. After that stop was done the girls started to once again walk towards the Metro to get back to the bakery where Ororo was picking them up.

Marinette walked into her room and dropped her bags on the floor before collapsing on her lounge. Tikki flew up out of her purse to hover in front of the tired girl. "You look exhausted. Maybe you should skip patrol tonight?" Tikki suggested as she studied Marinette.

"No," Marinette said firmly. "If the X-Men can do this then I know that I can as well." Tikki sighed as she nodded. Marinette quickly grabbed some fabric and hurried over to her work area to start measuring and prepping the material for cutting. She worked for the whole hour but managed to get her dress finished and Rogue's was outlined and ready to be cut.

Tikki flew up next to Marinette to inform her it was time for patrol to begin. Marinette nodded before saying, "Tikki, Spots On!" Once the transformation was complete she went to meet up with Chat at the Eiffel Tower.

When Ladybug arrived Chat Noir was already waiting for her. She quickly told him about the Akuma she had encountered at the mall and how the group of X-Women helped her handle the situation quickly. Once he was up to speed they started to split up to start patrol when their communicators beeped. Ladybug frowned as she tried to figure out what would be going on. As they answered they heard Cyclops' voice. "I know we're a little late but we were hoping to join you for patrol tonight."

"Who is we?" Chat asked

"Well, actually this time it is Nightcrawler and Magik."

"Alright. We're at the Eiffel Tower now getting ready to head to our different areas. How soon can they be here?" Marinette informed the leader of the mutants.

"How about right now?" Nightcrawler asked as Ladybug let out a Marinette-like squeak and turned around to the two behind them.

"Now works," said an equally startled Chat. The duo put their communicators away. "I guess you're with me Nightcrawler." With that said Chat turned and jumped off the Eiffel Tower towards the west side of the city. Nightcrawler 'ported after him leaving Ladybug alone with Amanda.

"I guess it's girls' night," Marinette said with a grin as they headed towards the east side of Paris.

After an hour and a half the four met back at the Eiffel Tower to discuss anything they might have noticed tonight. Since it was a quiet night, Nightcrawler and Magik left shortly after they met back up leaving Ladybug and Chat Noir by themselves.

"Ladybug," Chat asked as they too were getting ready to leave.

"Yes?" Ladybug turned to look at her partner.

"Do you ever think about letting me know who you are under the mask?" Chat seemed to have found an interesting spot on the floor as he asked.

"I've considered it," Ladybug answered while wondering where this conversation was going.

"Really?" Chat looked at Ladybug this time. "Why?"

Ladybug shrugged her shoulders before sitting on the ledge and letting her legs hang over. "It would be easier to communicate if we knew who the other was. Then we wouldn't have to wait until both of us are transformed. And if something happened to one of us we would be able to give some closure to the family members. And I trust you," Ladybug had gotten quieter as she kept listing off her reasons.

Chat sat waiting to see if she was going to add anything. He knew that she trusted him in battle. He just wasn't sure if she trusted him with other information. "So why haven't you told me?" He questioned gently as he scooted a little closer.

Ladybug let out a small sigh. "Because under the mask I am not anything like Ladybug. I'm clumsy and shy. I can't even talk to the boy I like without stuttering like an idiot." She gave a little laugh. "I guess I just like that you know me as Ladybug and I don't want you to see the other side of me. You might not like me."

Chat laughed at that, "Somehow I don't think that what I think of you will change once you decide to tell me." He smiled at the spotted heroine. "I just want you to know that when you are ready to tell me I'll be here and I promise I will not be disappointed."

Ladybug returned his smile and nodded before swinging off towards her house. Once safely back in her room she let her transformation drop. Once Tikki was free she flew to her little nook and grabbed a cookie to munch on.

"I know I'm not supposed to let anyone know my identity," Marinette said as the Kwami took another bite of cookie, "but sometimes I really want to let Chat know. If only so that if something happens to me he can let my parents know."

Tikki nodded in understanding. "You know I think that your identity should stay secret. But I will support you if you feel the need to reveal yourself to Chat." Marinette nodded as she went and got ready for bed.

"Good night Tikki," she murmured as she fell into bed. She was out before Tikki had turned off the lights.

 **XXX**

 **Let me know what you think!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The next morning at school the teenagers were sitting around before class talking when suddenly there was a commotion down the street. The group ran towards the disturbance and saw Steamroller making his way towards the school.

"Ugh," Kitty whined. "The training session this morning wasn't enough? Now we have to actually fight?"

Alya patted the brunette's shoulder in sympathy. "Maybe they'll cancel evening training because of this?"

Kitty just shook her head as the mutants ran forward to try to stop the momentum of the green tank. Fortunately, the professor had been monitoring Paris and looking for the green villain and Wolverine, Storm, Gambit, and Colossus were only a couple of minutes away. As the mutants were readying themselves to face the monster Adrien and Marinette were trying get everyone to go into the school where they would be safer. As they ushered the last of the kids inside Marinette and Adrien looked for someplace to hide so they could transform. Marinette hid in the janitors closet while Adrien made it to the boys changing room.

As the duo joined the high school mutants three motorcycles pulled to a stop in front of the school. As Gambit got off his bike he threw a handful of cards at the green behemoth meandering towards the school while deflecting all the blasts thrown at it by the other mutants.

The sudden blast from the cards exploding caused Steamroller to teeter for a moment before moving forward again. Chat jumped at the green monolith and raked it with his claws causing the creature to roar and smack the black clad hero sending him flying. Ladybug caught her partner before he hit the ground. "You ok Chat?"

Chat grinned cheekily at the red clad hero. "Now that I've got to see your beautiful bluebell eyes I am claw-some."

Rogue had overheard the conversation and groaned with Ladybug. "And that is why Chat reminds me of the swamp rat." Gambit heard her comment and took the chance to grin at the stripe haired mutant.

"Why, chere, I t'ink dat you missed me if ot'ers are reminding you of moi," Gambit had sauntered over to said girl who rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, is this the time Cajun?" Rogue looked at Ladybug for support.

"I see what you mean Rogue. Those two are definitely cut from the same cloth." The two girls just shook their heads as the two pouted at the comment. Both girls just looked at them before running off and joining the fight.

Chat took a second to really look at the Cajun mutant. His red and black eyes were a little disconcerting but Chat figured people probably said the same thing about his eyes while he was transformed. "Bonjour, je m'appelle Chat Noir." Chat introduced himself with a little bow.

"Bonjour Chat. Je m'appelle Gambit," Gambit said and returned the small bow. "Shall we join de fight den?"

With a nod the two ran towards the fight. Chat used his staff to propel himself towards the creature since his claws seemed to be his most effective weapon. After about an hour of fighting and getting nowhere the group decided they would have to do the same trick they pulled the first time. So, Rogue stripped her gloves off as Kurt grabbed her and dropped her behind the green monolith. She jumped up on his back and put her hands on either side of his face. This caused Steamroller to scream. After a while he seemed to slow down and eventually dropped to the ground.

Rogue let go and stood up. A green glow seemed to appear around the girl. She put her hands on her head as she tried to control the influx on information. Gambit ran over to her and gathered her in his arms before taking her to a safe area with the rest of the team while Jean tried to get into his mind and find more information.

As everyone gathered around Rogue to see if she was alright the Southern mutant seemed to have regained her senses. She stood up and pushed her way past the others and headed back to the downed student. It was a good thing that she was headed that direction as the person regained their feet and seemed to repel Jean's mental attacks as Jean screamed and dropped to the ground. The green force field once again formed around the young boy's body causing him to grow about 3 feet as he pushed into a run heading right towards the now unconscious Jean.

Rogue ran up and met him halfway. The two collided and brought each other to a stop. The two exchanged blows with neither of them gaining any ground. Colossus joined Rogue and together the two of them were finally able to make the green creature move back a couple of steps.

"Keep knocking him backwards," Ladybug called out to the two. "Chat, we need him to get to the bridge. Nightcrawler, once he's on the bridge I need you to teleport him up as high as you can while Chat destroys the bridge with his Cataclysm." Everyone nodded to show they understood what needed to be done.

Scott, Storm and Gambit joined the two powerhouse mutants to help push him back faster while Amanda and Kitty helped to get Jean to safety. As time passed Rogue's borrowed abilities started to dwindle. Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself into her head to find the fading powers and pull them back to the surface. She was a little surprised when she found it easily and could feel the power flowing back over her giving her a second wind. As they neared the water Ladybug called for her Lucky Charm. What she got was a dry ice gun. Looking at it curiously she found that when Steamroller was dropped towards the water hitting him with the dry ice would ensure that he would be further away before coming back after them.

When they finally reached the bridge, everyone was almost at the bottom of their reserves. Once Steamroller backed onto the bridge Nightcrawler teleported behind the powerhouse, grabbed ahold of his arm and teleported two miles straight up in the air before letting go and letting the behemoth start falling. Right after he disappeared Chat called on his Cataclysm and destroyed the bridge where Steamroller would be falling towards while Ladybug took the time to aim the dry ice gun towards where he would be falling while hoping that she didn't miss.

Ladybug's luck came through because her aim was true. It froze Steamroller in mid fall and as he splashed down into the river and started floating away Ladybug called, "Miraculous Ladybug," and all the destruction that was caused in the last hour and a half was repaired.

The heroes looked at each other. "Ah think it's time to go back to bed," Rogue said before collapsing. Luckily Gambit had been standing next to her and quickly caught her.

"Ah'll take her back to de house," Gambit informed them as he started walking back towards his bike. Logan growled at the red eyed mutant but didn't stop him as he and Colossus also walked back towards their bikes. "Once everyone is rested we need to debrief. Be at the mansion in an hour." Everyone nodded as they headed back towards the school.

Ororo dropped down next to everyone to inform them she would be at the school shortly with the car. Everyone nodded as they walked wearily towards the school. Ladybug and Chat Noir took off to find somewhere to change back to their civilian identities before hurrying towards the mutants from inside the school. "School's been canceled for the day," Marinette informed the group as they got close enough. "This usually happens when an akuma attacks nearby. So, we will see you tomorrow." With a slight wave, Marinette headed towards her house while Adrien started walking towards his.

"Adrien," Kitty called. "We can, like, drop you at your house if you want. We've got an extra seat since Rogue was taken home already."

Adrien smiled at the brunette, "That would be great! Thanks!"

As the group climbed into the car Amanda asked Adrien, "Do you have any ideas who Chat Noir and Ladybug are under the masks?"

Adrien shook his head, "No one does. Why do you ask?"

Amanda just shrugged. "Curiosity."

Adrien laughed before saying, "Curiosity killed the cat though."

Kurt laughed before adding, "Yeah but satisfaction brought it back." The two boys fist bumped as they started laughing again.

"I think they're a little punch drunk," Amanda whispered to Kitty.

"I understand that about Kurt by why would Adrien be punch drunk," Kitty whispered back.

"I think Adrien might be Chat," Amanda whispered back. "Everyone else was pretty much gone but he and Marinette were still there. And there are physical similarities between them."

Kitty nodded and seemed to be thinking about it as she studied the blonde teen. "I can see that. But how can we find out? I mean, they, like, don't even know who each other are."

Amanda shrugged. "I guess we just wait them out. They'll be at the mansion later for the debriefing. Maybe we can get some more info then." Kitty nodded in agreement before settling back in the seat.

After dropping Adrien off at his house the car headed towards the mansion. When it arrived most of the students were dozing. Ororo pulled the car to a stop and turned to look in the back. "We have arrived kids. You can go to your rooms and cat nap for a little while before the professor will be looking to debrief you." The kids all yawned and stretched as they got out of the car and did as Ororo suggested.

Meanwhile, back at Marinette's place, Marinette was laying on her bed napping while Tikki munched on a cookie. She knew they needed to be at the mansion in a half hour but she didn't have the heart to wake Marinette up. Luckily, she didn't have to as her mom knocked and entered the room causing the teenager sit straight up in bed. "Is it time for school already?" Marinette slurred as she looked around the room blearily.

Her mom laughed at her. "I think you need to start going to bed earlier dear if you are this out of it halfway through the day."

Marinette squeaked and looked at the clock. "Oh no! I've got to get going. I told Rogue and them that I would meet up with them later to work on some homework."

"Well, I guess that means you are going to need lunch to go. I just wanted to let you know it was ready," Her mom turned and walked back down the stairs while Marinette tried to finish waking herself up.

After fixing her hair, she went downstairs and kissed her mom goodbye while grabbing a sandwich for the road. "I'll be back before supper, Maman." With a wave, she hurried out the door. Once out of sight of the bakery she ducked into an empty alley and hurriedly transformed. Shortly after that she was swinging away to the mansion. Along the way, she met up with Chat. "How was your little break?" Ladybug asked as they ran along he rooftops.

"I got a little cat nap in," the black clad hero said with a smirk on his face.

"Chat!" Ladybug rolled her eyes as she reached out a tapped Chat on his shoulder.

"Ow, that hurt M'Lady," Chat fake pouted at the heroine who just smiled sweetly at the boy.

They were still teasing back and forth as the entered the mansion. As they entered they were met by Wolverine who motioned for them to follow him to the area the mutants were using as a war room.

"Good afternoon," Professor Xavier greeted as the two entered the room. The rest of the group had already gathered together. "We have some new information we would like to share with you."

"Good," Ladybug commented. "I also had some information to share. I recognized the kid when Rogue had drained his powers. He transferred to Francoise Dupont at the end of last year. His name is Julien."

"That matches with the information that we obtained from Rogue and Jean. We also know that he is not at full strength yet. With the crystal split into 3 pieces he only has a fraction of his powers. And he is still learning to control his powers. The god behind the gem is having troubles communicating with him because of the broken gem. He is looking for the other pieces so that he can get to full power."

"This is a cat-trastophe," Chat exclaimed. "I can't believe that he isn't at full strength yet! How are we going to stop him?"

"We're going to find the rest of the gem first and make sure they are destroyed so no one can use them again." Scott looked at the group. "Do we have any idea how to separate Julien from the gem so that we can make sure all of it is destroyed?"

"At the moment, no," Xavier looked at Storm. "We have Dr. McCoy working on how to destroy them and how to detach it from its host."

"Do we have any clues as to where the other 2 pieces of the gem are," Ladybug questioned.

"No," Logan answered. "I have contacted S.H.I.E.L.D. and they are going to see if they can find any clues for us."

"Are you sure we can trust Fury, homme," Remy spoke up. "How do we know dat dey won't send agents after the pieces so dat dey can use dem?"

"That's why I've hacked into their system and I am watching their every move," Kitty spoke up. She used to be horrible with computers but after spending some time with Webber Torque AKA Arcade and Forge she now has the understanding she needs to be able to master the skills to be a good hacker.

"Alright, so what do we do in the meantime?" Chat looked at the group gathered around the table.

"We train so we're ready to go at a moment's notice," Logan answered. "So, when I have training sessions I expect you 2 to be a part of it."

The two looked at each other and nodded. "When are the sessions?"

"There will be two a day during the week. The first one starts at 5:30 a.m. There will be another one after school every day at 5 p.m. And this weekend we will be doing survival training." At this the X-Men groaned.

"What's survival training," Chat asked nervously.

"It's where Logan takes us out into the woods with no food or anything and we have to survive for 48 hours," Scott said with a grimace. "We got lucky last year in that they sent us to camp but apparently, we won't get so lucky this time."

Chat looked a little nervous. "Sorry guys, but this cat is a city cat. He doesn't do nature."

Ladybug laughed. "I'm afraid I will have to agree with Chat Noir on this one. That would require us to reveal our secret identities and I am not ready for that."

The professor thought that through. "That is true. But we can work out a way to keep your identities secret."

"What about our parents?" Ladybug asked. "Somehow I don't think that they would be thrilled with us disappearing for a weekend."

Logan growled, "Look, I know who the two of you are under the masks." The superhero duo jumped in surprise before looking around nervously.

"H-h-h-how do y-y-you know-w-w?" Ladybug stuttered.

"Your scents. I have heightened senses and smell is one of my strongest. So, if you are worried about your parents I will be willing to pose as a P.E. teacher and say it is for extra credit or something."

The two exchanged another nervous glance. "Look," Logan was getting extremely annoyed. "Either you guys are going to fight with us or you just need to leave and not get involved anymore. Make your decision quickly so we don't waste anymore of our time."

Ladybug looked at Chat and wondered once more if she should just tell him who she was. "I can't speak for Chat, but I want to see this through to the end. I'll go on your survival weekend if you can clear it with my parents."

Chat was torn. He wanted to stay by his lady's side but at the same time he knew his father would never let him be out of his sight for a whole weekend without his bodyguard going too. Which of course wouldn't work out at all since it would give away his secret identity and would hinder the training. "Professor, can I talk to you in private?"

The professor nodded and motioned for the black clad hero to follow him. When they were out of the room Chat Noir studied the professor as he paced back and forth. The professor sat in his chair with his fingers steepled as he waited for the cat hero to say what was on his mind. Finally, Adrien stopped pacing and seemed to have made his decision. "Can I trust you with my secret identity? It'll make it easier to explain why I can't go on the training weekend."

The professor nodded, "Of course. Anything you say in here stays in here."

Chat took a deep breath before uttering, "Plagg, Claws In." As the green light faded Adrien stood where Chat Noir once stood. Plagg flew up and landed on Adrien's shoulder as the teenager pulled out a package of Camembert for his Kwami to eat.

The professor nodded. "I thought you were Chat Noir after meeting you on Tuesday but I was not going to say anything until you were ready."

Adrien nodded. "Thank you for that. But now that you know for sure you understand why I can't go this weekend. My father will never allow me to leave for a weekend without my bodyguard." Adrien looked at the ground feeling frustrated at the situation. He hated being trapped by his civilian identity.

"I understand your frustration," the professor soothed as he wheeled closer to the teen. "I can help get you out of the house for the weekend if you truly want to continue to help us."

Adrien looked up with hope in his eyes. "Can you really convince my father to let me go away for a weekend without the gorilla?"

Plagg cackled at that. "Kid, you do realize you are talking to the most powerful telepath in the world, right? He could make the Pope do the chicken dance in front of millions if he so desired."

The professor studied the cat Kwami curiously. "I have never seen a creature such as yourself. I can tell that you are very old though. Maybe as old or older than Apocalypse."

The Kwami smiled. "That pain the butt almost destroyed the world. Good thing those priests came to their senses and locked him in that whatchamacallit."

The professor smiled. "Yes, it is a good thing indeed. Now, Adrien, back to your situation. Are you sure this is what you want?"

Adrien nodded. "Being Chat and helping to save Paris has been the best thing to happen to me so if you can help I will take it."

"Alright, go ahead and transform and we will go join the others." Adrien nodded and did as he was told. After they rejoined the others the professor informed the group that Chat would be joining them this weekend as well.

Ladybug leaned over to whisper to Chat, "What did you talk to him about?"

Chat answered, "If we ever get around to revealing our identities to each other I will explain."

Ladybug frowned at his answer. She wasn't exactly sure how she felt about that. Although, it was getting more tempting every day to just tell him who she was. _If the opportunity comes up over the weekend maybe I'll go ahead and tell him._ Making a mental note to talk to Tikki about it tonight she turned back to the conversation.

"Alright kids. Might as well rest up. Training in the back yard at 5," Logan headed off to talk to the parents of Marinette and Adrien.

Ladybug and Chat Noir decided to head out. Once back in her room Marinette decided to work on finishing Rogue's dress. "Maybe I should suggest us getting ready at their house since we will already be there for training tomorrow," Marinette thought out loud.

"But wouldn't that seem weird that you show up right after Ladybug leaves?" Tikki questioned as she munched on a cookie.

Marinette heaved a big sigh. "You're right, Tikki. I guess I'll just have to tell everyone to be here by seven. That should give us enough time to get the training done and me be back to greet everyone." Nodding to herself that the plan should work she turned her full attention to the dress she was working on. If this came out the way it was supposed to it would be her best piece yet. She couldn't wait to see Rogue in the final product! It seemed like no time at all before it was time to yet again head to the mansion for training. Rogue's dress, however, was finished except for any alterations that would be needed after Rogue put it on.

To say she was nervous about the training was an understatement. She was so nervous that she felt like there was a million ladybugs flying around in her stomach and her limbs were starting to visibly shake.

Of course, Chat noticed this and decided to try to help calm her down (and possibly calm himself down as well since he was just as nervous.) "Good evening, M'Lady. You know, this is the most time we have spent together in a day since the Akuma attacks started."

Ladybug seemed surprised. She furrowed her brow and twisted her lips into a slight frown as she thought about it. "This is the most time we have spent together without fighting. Remember Robocop?"

Chat nodded. "True, but I don't think running for our lives counts much for quality time." Ladybug giggled at that.

"No, it most certainly does not." A small genuine smile formed on Ladybugs lips as she leaned closer to her partner. "Thanks for distracting me Chat," she said as she softly, but quickly, kissed his cheek.

Chat's face turned a slight shade of pink as he tried not to let a goofy grin break out on his face. _Cool cat, Adrien, you're a cool cat. Don't blow it now._ "I'm willing to distract you anytime you need me to," he purred in her ear as he pulled her closer. This time it was Ladybug's turn to blush.

"Silly kitty," she said as she poked his bell causing it to tinkle. "Now, let's go get our butts kicked."

Chat visibly deflated at that comment, "Way to run the mood LB."

A little over an hour later found the whole group sprawled out in the yard. They had managed to successfully run through the gauntlet Wolverine had made for them and now they were all exhausted. "If anyone needs me," Rogue said, "you'll be able to find me right here for the next week."

Everyone tried to nod in agreement but found that it hurt to move their heads. "I agree," Ladybug said. "I don't think I have ever had that kind of endurance test before. And we've had fights that have gone on for hours before. I don't see how you guys survive this every day."

"Stop your whining Spots," Logan said as he walked over to the group. He chuckled as he heard all the groans that was caused by his appearance. "Every one of the X-Men can tell you that this is nothing compared to some of the danger room sessions I put them through."

"I don't know, Herr Logan," Kurt said, "I think that the worst one was the one that mother put us through when she was posing as the professor." All the students nodded.

"That one was horrible," Scott concurred. "I actually quit the team after that session because I thought he was being way to hard and asinine about it."

"I don't know about you guys," Kurt piped up again. "But I could use some food!"

"Food requires us to move Kurt," Amanda pointed out to her boyfriend. "And I am not moving."

Logan chuckled louder. "Well, I did happen to order about a dozen pizzas that will be here any minute now. But if you guys aren't hungry then I guess I'll just have to eat them all."

"NO!" Everyone suddenly had the energy to get up and head to the dining room for the pizza that was promised. There was mild pandemonium as everyone fought over who got what pizza. In the end, Ladybug and Chat Noir had to take a break to recharge their Kwamis. It was very tempting to go out and just let everyone know their secret identities just so they could enjoy the food and comradery that was happening in the dining room at that moment.

"You know what Tikki," Marinette said. "It would be so easy to just walk out there and tell them who I am but I feel that I should tell Chat in private first. So please hurry up and eat that cookie so I can go get more pizza before they eat it all." Tikki giggled but downed the last of her cookie.

"Good to go Marinette," she said before being sucked into the miraculous Marinette was wearing. Ladybug hurried back into the dining room and saw that there was still some pizza left. Quickly grabbing a couple more slices she found her seat between Rogue and Kitty.

"Do you guys always get fed this much after training?" Chat asked. He had never seen so much food in one spot before. And nobody was telling him he couldn't have more so he was taking advantage of the situation. _Diet be damned. I am starving and I will eat as much as I can. I've burned enough calories today that nobody will be the wiser._

"You better believe it," Kurt answered around a mouthful of pepperoni and sausage. "Ze professor believes that since we are still growing teens we should be well fed."

"Wow," Chat said. "Usually I get stuck with salads and tiny portions. 'You have to watch your weight. I can't afford for you to gain an ounce'," Chat did his best impersonation of his father causing Kurt to laugh and spit pizza in the cat's face. This caused everyone at the table to start laughing.

Once they settled down Kitty asked, "Why do you have to watch your weight so much?"

"Ummm," Chat looked around searching for an answer that wouldn't give him away. "My dad is super picky about appearances. He thinks that if I look bad it will make him look bad." He was pleased with that answer. It was truthful without revealing too much personal information.

"Sounds like a jerk to me," Rogue muttered. "Remy can relate to that. His father is the world's biggest jerk."

Remy looked surprised to hear Rogue talking about his father, "Chere, ah still t'ink dat you care about moi, whether you want to admit it or not. Why else would you keep putting mon pére down?"

Rogue scowled at the Cajun. "Ah forgot who ah was talking about, swamp rat. And just because the guy is a grade A dick doesn't mean that ah have feelings for you."

Remy smirked, "Ah do believe the lovely lady doth protest too much. But ah'll let it go for the moment."

Chat and Ladybug exchanged looks with Kitty and Kurt. Ladybug and Kitty looked amused with a mischievous twinkle in their eyes. While Kurt and Chat just seemed to be worried about the exchange between the two southern mutants. Kurt because he didn't trust the Cajun around his sister. Chat was worried because it seemed to him that Gambit was going where he wasn't wanted and he didn't want Rogue to be put in a bad position.

After the last of the pizza was eat Chat and Ladybug bid the X-Men goodnight and headed towards their homes. On the way, Ladybug stopped Chat. "I have a quick question for you."

Chat was curious and nodded for her to continue. "Well," Ladybug started twiddling her fingers in nervousness, "I know that you say you want to know who I am under the mask, but are you ready to let me know who you are?"

"Anytime you want you can ask me and I'll tell you," Chat said as he took a step closer. "Are you saying that you're ready to tell me?"

Ladybug looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Almost, I was thinking if this situation arises over the weekend it might not be a bad thing," she squeaked.

Chat nodded. "Deal. If we find ourselves in a situation where both of us are going to de-transform we will show each other who we are." Chat stuck his hand out.

Ladybug took a deep breath before taking his hand in hers. "Deal," she said barely over a whisper.

Chat smiled at this lady before bringing her hand to his lips. "I look forward to this weekend. Au revoir, mon Cherie." With a gallant bow, Chat took off in the direction of his house with a light heart. He was going to do his best to make sure the situation they discussed happened over the weekend. But first, he had to survive tomorrow night.

Ladybug rolled her eyes as Chat jumped off into the night. "I think Gambit is starting to rub off on him." With a fond smile, she watched her partner go before turning to her own house. It might only be 8 p.m. but she was ready for bed.

Next chapter is the night club! I can't wait to write it! Leave me a little message with comments. If you have criticisms please be constructive and not just rude. Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The following morning came way too early for the French heroes. After another strenuous workout, they headed back to their houses before anyone could notice they were gone. For Marinette that meant she arrived at school early for once, surprising Alya and Nino. "What are you doing here so early?" Alya walked over to her best friend and put a hand on her forehead to check to see if she was sick. "No fever," Alya said as she put her hands on Marinette's shoulders and looked into her eyes. "So, what's up?"

"Nothing," Marinette defended as she pushed Alya away. "I just happened to get to sleep early last night and woke up with my alarm." Marinette was also extremely sore. Between the fight yesterday, the training last night and the training this morning her muscles were screaming at her. She just hoped that she would be feeling better by tonight for all the dancing. She was super excited to be getting to spend the entire evening with Adrien!

When they reached the classroom, the whole class was excited about something. "What's going on?" Alya asked Alix.

"Nino's uncle has decided that since he is going to have Nino DJing he is going to open the club up to all high school students! Everyone will be there tonight to support Nino!"

"That's awesome!" Alya couldn't wait to get there tonight and show Nino how much she supported him.

At that point, Chloe walked in with Sabrina. Shortly after she entered the X-Men and Adrien walked in.

"ADRIKINS," Chloe exclaimed as she ran towards the blonde model. "Did you hear about the club opening up to high school students tonight? I am so excited! We'll be able to go and show everyone what a great couple we are!"

Adrien was trying to push Chloe away when suddenly he was several steps back from her. Looking around confused he noticed Kitty still had her hand on his arm. "Actually, Chloe," Adrien stated, "I'm going with a group of friends tonight."

"What? Who?" Chloe was red at being rebuffed and having Adrien taken away from her.

"Nino, Alya, and Marinette," Adrien said. "And now that they are here we've invited the new students as well."

Chloe was seething. "How dare you!" She turned swiftly to Marinette. "You are not good enough for my Adrikins!" She made to move towards Marinette with her hand up to strike her but never got the chance as Kurt and Amanda stepped in-between the two.

"And what do you think you're going to do?" Amanda took a step closer to the blonde. "You do realize that Adrien is a person who can decide for himself who he wants to hang out with, right?" The dark-haired girl narrowed her eyes.

"Like I'm going to listen to a mutie like you," Chloe spat.

"Better a mutant then a stuck-up snob who has to bully people into being friends with her," Amanda growled as she took another step forward.

Chloe looked around and noticed that the whole class was glaring at her. "And what are you guys looking at? It's not like you haven't thought the same thing." Huffing she turned on her heels, stomped to her seat and sat with another huff.

Everyone started to settle down and headed to their seats as the first bell rang. Adrien walked over to Marinette and asked, "Are you alright? I'm not sure what has gotten into Chloe lately."

"It's nothing I wouldn't have been able to handle, Adrien," Marinette said quietly as she smiled shyly at the blonde model. "I'm really looking forward to tonight."

"Me too," Adrien said with a smile. "I'm looking forward to it as well. It's not every day our friend gets to DJ and we get to go dancing."

Marinette had started to deflate as he said the first part about Nino but perked back up when he mentioned dancing. "I guess you've had dance training as well as all your other activities, huh?" _Meaning if I try to dance with him I might make a fool of myself._ With that thought she was about to start freaking out. Luckily Adrien answered her and she had to concentrate on his answer.

"I have had some dance lessons. Mostly the Waltz though," Adrien said with a slight blush. He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Not exactly something you can use at a dance club."

Marinette giggled at the image. "Probably not." The two exchanged a grin before being interrupted as Ms. Bustier came in to start the day.

"Girl, what was that?" Alya was dying of curiosity as to what the two had been talking about.

"He was saying he was excited about tonight," Marinette tried to play if off with a casual shrug but inside she was jumping for joy. Adrien and she had an actual conversation!

Alya grinned at her best friend. "Between that conversation and the dress you made you are sure to hook him tonight."

Marinette almost burst out laughing, "Alya, he's not a fish. I'm just hoping to get to know him better."

"Riiggghhhhtttt," Alya drawled. "Admit it, you're hot for the blonde cutie."

Marinette giggled again causing Adrien and Nino to look back at them and Ms. Bustier to shush them. Looking embarrassed the two turned their attention back to the lesson.

The rest of the day seemed to go by real slow but really fast at the same time. After school, the girls confirmed their plans to meet at Marinette's at 7 and the boys had decided to meet at the X-Mansion at the same time and then the whole group would meet at the club a half hour before opening.

Five o'clock found Ladybug and Chat Noir back at the X-Mansion. Today's lesson was a maze with many surprises that the team had to figure out together. The team was split into 3 groups and told to start the maze 5 minutes apart. First group was Kitty, Nightcrawler and Chat Noir. Second group was Rogue, Jean, and Colossus. The third group was Cyclops, Gambit, Amanda and Ladybug. Wolverine was the one who set the maze up and Storm was going to provide aerial support to make sure nothing went wrong.

"I must be getting into better shape," Amanda commented once her group was through the maze, "I'm not as exhausted today as I was yesterday."

Wolverine laughed. "I doubt it Magik. This maze was more of a mental challenge. I'm saving the grueling stuff for this weekend." This caused all the teens to groan. Even Storm seemed to be a little leery of what was going to happen this weekend.

"Besides, it's going to be a big night with all the dancing. And let's face it, tomorrow and Sunday are going to be my best work."

Chat looked around and noticed that everyone looked as nervous about this weekend as he was. "Do we get to eat?" He asked to change the subject.

This cause Wolverine, Storm, and the professor to start laughing. "Yes, dear," Storm said. "It is on the table being kept warm."

As the kids entered the dining room they saw a big feast waiting for them. There was chicken, roasted potatoes, broccoli, green beans, corn, and asparagus. There were also rolls, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. The kids all hurried to the table and started dishing food onto their plates. A half hour later everyone was ready for a nap after filling their stomachs.

However, it was now getting close to 7 and they had to get ready to meet up with their friends. Bidding everyone goodnight Ladybug and Chat Noir headed off towards their houses to change. Once on her balcony Ladybug looked around before dropping her transformation and heading down to her room. She jumped in the shower and had just got out and put on her dressing gown when Alya showed up.

"Girl! Are you ready to party?" Alya exclaimed. "I can't wait to see Nino in action!"

Marinette laughed at her excited friend before giving her friend a mischievous grin. "I bet you can't. Once he sees you in that dress though he might be too distracted to do his job properly."

Alya looked uncertain. "Do you really think so? I would love to think that he likes me the way I like him."

Marinette started to say something but was interrupted when her mom knocked on her door letting her know the rest of their friends had arrived. Once everyone was in the room it was a little chaotic as people started to get changed or put on their makeup. Once Marinette had her makeup on she sent Rogue into the bathroom to get her dress on so she could make any alterations needed.

However, she found that the measurements she had taken at the fabric store had been spot on. There were very few adjustments that needed to be made and everyone had plenty of great things to say about the dress. It was a beautiful purple dress with black accents. The main body of the dress was a plum color that tightly hugged Rogue's curves. Her arms and shoulders were covered with sheer black lace embroidered with tiny skulls. The dress had a diamond cutout that started at the center of her neck where a shiny black button held the collar of the dress closed and dropped down to the bottom of the center of her rib cage. There were three thin black chains draped across the diamond cutout creating a peek-a-boo effect around her bust area. The skirt stopped at midthigh and there was a thick black belt around the middle with about 4 inches of matching lace hanging from it. She finished the look off with black over the knee boots that had decorative perforations punched out of them. She had gloves made from the same lace covering her hands.

"Wow," Kitty said with her mouth hanging open. "Gambit isn't going to know what hit him. I can't believe you were able to make this in just three days!" Kitty hugged Marinette before turning and hugging Rogue. "Oh my gosh! I can't wait for everyone to see you!" Kitty was practically dancing around the room.

"I know what to do with your hair," Alya said. "And your makeup. I even brought some of those gloves like what the doctors use so that I can help you with it!"

Rogue smiled at everyone. "Thank you, guys! I can't believe you did this for me!" She looked like she wanted to cry and laugh at the same time as she studied herself in the mirror.

"Rogue, we're all friends here. You just need to tell us what you need and we'll be glad to help," Jean said to the goth mutant. Rogue smiled at the red head. They didn't always get along but she knew that Jean meant what she said.

Over the next 3 hours the 6 six girls took turns doing each other's hair and make-up while Marinette made any little adjustments they needed done on their dresses. When it was time to leave, everyone was ready. The excited chatter had Marinette's parents smiling at the girls as they headed out to the waiting town car.

XXXXXXXXX

The boy had arrived at the club a half hour before it opened to help Nino get things set up. Nino was wearing a blue button-down shirt, loose fitting jeans, his ever-present headphones hung around his neck. He had decided to forego a hat and the rest of the guys agreed with that decision.

Scott was wearing a grey t-shirt under a three-quarter sleeve blue blazer, a pair of grey slacks and a comfortable pair of oxfords. Adrien was wearing a black t-shirt under a green blazer that matched his eyes, black slacks, and black sneakers. They were, of course, all from his dad's latest fashion line.

Kurt was wearing a dark blue suit with a white dress shirt under the jacket. The dress shirt had the top three buttons undone. According to Kurt it was so that he could breathe better. Colossus wore a baby blue short sleeved dress shirt that matched his eyes, grey slacks, and a pair of grey shoes.

Gambit was wearing his usual trench coat over a red dress shirt. If he removed the trench coat you would notice that he had rolled the sleeves of the shirt up to just below his elbows. He was also wearing black slacks and black shoes.

The guys all wondered around getting familiar with the layout of the club. For most of the group they were making sure they knew where all the exits were in case there was a reason to make a hasty retreat. As Nino started setting up the equipment Adrien came up and asked, "What time are the girls supposed to be here?"

Nino smiled at his best bud. "Alya said they would be here around the same time as us. Why you ask bro? Anxious to see a certain blue haired girl." Nino gave Adrien a big grin as the blonde blushed a little.

"No, that's not it." Adrien shuffled his feet a little as he looked at the floor. "Alright, maybe I am looking forward to getting to spend some time with her. But you know that I'm head over heels for Ladybug."

Nino laughed. "You say that but I've seen how you look at Marinette. It would be easier on you if you just admit that you have a crush on our sweet friend."

Adrien once again found the floor very interesting. "I don't know. But what about you?" Adrien looked up at his friend with a big smile on his face. "Aren't you wondering what Alya will be wearing? Are you going to be able to concentrate while she's out there dancing?"

"Dude," Nino looked around to make sure no one overheard what Adrien said. "You know Alya doesn't feel that way about me. Why would you put those thoughts in my head?"

Adrien laughed at his flustered friend. "I still say she likes you back. But you'll never know if you don't ask her."

Nino seemed to think about it. "Maybe I'll get a chance to talk to her tonight."

"I know," Adrien said with a snap of his fingers. "Why don't you invite her up here so she can get the inside scoop on how the whole DJ gig works."

"That's a super idea." Nino turned back to the equipment. "Now go away and let me finish setting things up." Laughing at his dismissal Adrien walked back to the other guys hanging around.

Looking at the clock he saw that the club would open in 10 minutes. Which meant that his bodyguard would be here in 5 minutes. Groaning Adrien walked over to a quiet corner to check on Plagg. "Are you sure you wouldn't be more comfortable somewhere besides my coat pocket?"

"As long as I have cheese I'll be good," Plagg answered with a yawn. "Besides, where else would I stay?"

Adrien thought for a moment, "Well, the car will be parked outside so you could stay in there."

"And what happens if an Akuma attacks." Plagg looked at his holder with an evil smile, "You do realize that Chloe will be here which means that is a strong possibility." Laughing, Adrien shook his head and looked over at the door to see if the girls had arrived.

Adrien rejoined the group and was enjoying getting to know the mutants better. He found that if you could get Colossus to loosen up he was a funny guy. When you got him and Kurt going there were some side splitting jokes going on. Scott and Remy were laughing along with the two jokesters when Scott looked over and saw the girls come in.

His mouth dropped open as he pushed Kurt's shoulder. Kurt frowned before looking in the direction Scott was staring. Then it was his turn to turn the rest of the guys towards the entrance as the female part of their group walked in.

Alya had braided her hair into a crown and had put contacts in so she didn't have to worry about her glasses. Her cinnabar red halter dress accented all her curves and the strappy gold sandals showed off her toned calf muscles. Adrien took a second to look over and saw that Nino had noticed the girl from Martinique and from the expression on his face told Adrien that it was a good thing the club hadn't opened yet or there would probably have been a lull in the music.

Scott had seen Jean walk in and couldn't believe his eyes. Her gold and green mini dress accentuated her long legs and toned arms and shoulders. She had pulled her hair up into half French twist with the rest curled and pinned to fall over her right shoulder. She had gold heels that tied around the ankle in the same type of bow as her belt. As he was watching her Jean looked over and caught his eye. She smirked at the brunette as what he was thinking was written all over his face.

Kitty had dressed in her pink lacy, off the shoulder, bell sleeved dress. Her shoes were Greek sandals that had ribbons twisted around her calves up to her knees. She had put her hair up into a full French twist and pulled a few hairs down to frame her face. When she met Piotr's eyes she had to stifle a giggle since he was standing there with his mouth open. She hurried over to the giant mutant and gave him a big hug.

When Kurt saw Amanda, he was reminded why he had been so nervous the night of the Sadie Hawkins dance. Not because he was afraid she would feel his fur but because she was so beautiful. Her asymmetrical ombre dress showed off how toned her arms and legs had become since training with the X-Men. The glitter in the dress sparkled under the low lights and she had managed to get some glitter in her braid so her hair shimmered like her wine-colored dress and her black heels also had glitter on them.

Rogue and Marinette had stayed fairly well hidden behind the other girls as they walked towards their friends. As the group walked closer, the men were finally able to see what the last two members of the group were wearing.

Remy wasn't sure which way was up anymore as Rogue made herself visible. The dress she was wearing was going to be getting attention from a lot of the guys when the club opened in 5 minutes. The fact that her hair was up in a messy bun showing off her long neck and her white skin stood out against the black lace of her dress. He quickly walked forward and took her hand. "Ma Cherie, you are de most beautiful femme here."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "That's not that difficult Cajun since the club hasn't opened yet."

Remy smiled. He adored the spitfire spirit of the girl in front of him. If he had his way he would be the only one dancing with her tonight.

Adrien had a similar reaction to Marinette when he finally saw her. He had never seen her with so much skin showing. She walked up to stand next to him but all he could do was stare. "Wow," was all he managed to say as she said hi to him. Her dress was a light pink color that clung to her curves and accentuated all the muscles being Ladybug and working in a bakery had given her. The dress was a spaghetti strap dress that stopped at mid-thigh. The top part was designed as a bikini top with a sweetheart neckline. There a loose decorative lace covering the top. There were four portions of the lace that hung down (on the sides, one in the front, and one in the back) in three inch strips that attached to the skirt. The skirt was a flowing chiffon that started at the top of her hip bones and stopped at mid-thigh. The sides of her hair were pulled back with decorative pink combs and the back had been curled. She had on small pink strappy heels to help accentuate her toned calves.

She smiled slightly at the boy as he stood there staring. "A-a-Adrien?" She stammered as she waved a hand in front of his face. "Does it not look good?" Marinette was starting to freak out. Fortunately for Adrien Kurt came to his rescue.

"I think you broke him Liebling (darling)."

"What do you mean?" Marinette was starting to worry something was seriously wrong with her dress.

"He thinks you're hot," Alya cut in. "You have to be very specific when talking about Adrien to Marinette," Alya told Kurt.

Kurt nodded. "Got it. I'll remember that for next time. Now if you will excuse me I am going to go swoon over my beautiful girlfriend." With that Kurt grabbed Amanda's hand and headed over to the table the guys had claimed when they arrived. The other couples followed suit and soon it was just Marinette, Alya, and Adrien on the edge of the dance floor. Alya quickly excused herself and headed over to where the DJ stand was to visit with Nino.

Adrien finally managed to snap out of his trance as he felt Plagg poke him through his coat pocket. "Y-y-you look very n-n-nice tonight, Mari." He blushed as he started stuttering. _What has gotten into me? Why am I acting like she's Ladybug?_

Blushing Marinette responded, "Thanks! You look good too." At that time, the music started blaring and looking around they realized that others had started entering the club. "Umm, would you like to dance?"

"Dancing would be good," Adrien managed to say. _Real smooth Agreste._ He mentally facepalmed as he followed her out to the dance floor. That didn't help much as he found himself watching her skirt as it swayed with her steps. She started dancing and he soon found himself dancing along with her but still unable to take his eyes off her. He missed the scowl on the blonde standing on the edge of the dance floor.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. After a few songs, they decided to head back to the table and get a drink. Adrien asked Marinette and Alya what they wanted to drink before heading over to the bar to get them as the girls headed over to the open table in the corner.

"Girl," Alya exclaimed when they were alone. "That boy can't keep his eyes off you! I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't ask you out after tonight!"

Marinette giggled and did a happy dance. "I love dancing with him! And he seems to be enjoying himself!"

Marinette slipped into the table and settled down to wait for Adrien to get back. "Nino is supposed to be getting a break shortly. I'm going to go meet up with him." Alya giggled and sent a big grin Marinette's way as she headed back to the DJ's booth.

Marinette smiled as she watched her friend walking towards where Nino was. She turned her attention back towards the bar to see where Adrien was when suddenly someone slipped into the seat next to her.

"Hey beautiful," he said as he tried to put his arm around her. "I saw you out on the dance floor and I think I have finally found my angel."

Marinette looked at the guy as she scooted further away. "Thank you for the compliment but I'm already here with someone so I would like for you to leave."

"Oh, come on baby," he scooted even closer to and started to get in personal space. "I don't bite unless you want me to."

Both were startled when suddenly a hand was smacked down on the table. "I do bite. The lady is with me so you better be backing up right now." Marinette was startled at the ferocity that came from Adrien as he made his statement. But at the same time, she was ecstatic beyond believe that Adrien was coming to her aid. Not that she couldn't handle herself but it was still nice to feel protected.

The guy that had been harassing Marinette stood up. "And you're going to make me? Maybe the lady would appreciate a real man."

Adrien narrowed his eyes as he took a step closer. "She is a person that has a right to choose. And I believe she asked you to leave."

The guy took a step towards Adrien but suddenly stopped. He was looking over Adrien's shoulder and seemed to rethink the situation. "Fine. But this isn't over." He turned and walked away.

Adrien turned and looked at what had made the man walk away. Remy, Kurt, Scott and Piotr had appeared to support their friend. "Thanks guys but I was handling it."

"Oui," Remy said as he reached into a pocket for a cigarette. "We could see dat mais, the homme wasn't going to back down and we didn't want you to get t'rown outta de club, mon ami."

Adrien smiled at the Cajun. "Merci guys." He turned and looked at Marinette who hadn't moved the entire time. "Are you alright Mari?" He started to get a little worried when she didn't say anything or move so he slid into the booth beside her. "Mari? It's alright. He's gone." He put a hand on her shoulder which seemed to bring her back to herself some.

"I-i-I'm fine. Thank you, Adrien," Marinette sat forward and kissed her friend on the cheek. "Ummm, I think I need to go to the bathroom for a minute though. Excuse me."

"Alright," Adrien said as he scooted back out so that Marinette could get out as well. As Marinette walked past the group of guys she grabbed hold of Kitty and Rogue's hands and nodded towards the bathroom so Amanda and Jean would follow as well.

Once inside the bathroom the noise died down. Marinette turned to the girls standing behind her waiting for her to tell them why she dragged them into the restroom.

"Adrien stood up for me." Marinette still couldn't believe it.

"Like, yeah," Kitty said. "What's so hard to believe about that? He seems like a nice guy who wouldn't stand by and let a friend be harassed."

"Look," Amanda said as she stepped towards Marinette. "He likes you. He might not admit it to himself just yet but he really does like you like you."

"Do you really think so?" Marinette asked quietly. It seemed like too much to hope for.

"Yes," Rogue assured her. "And, why wouldn't he? You're a sweet girl who always helps her friends. You're creative, kind, loyal and can kick butt when she needs to."

Marinette smiled at her new friends. "Thanks guys. I guess I just needed to hear if from someone else."

"Now, let's get back out there and boogie." Kitty motioned for the girls to follow. As they were walking out they ran into Alya and Nino. "Nino," Kitty said, "Can I, like, make a special request? I wanna do a girl's dance."

"Sure," Nino answered. "What do you want to hear?"

"How about Shape of You by Ed Sheeren?"

Nino ran through the music he had loaded for tonight. "I think I have that."

"Great! Come on Alya," Kitty started running off again with a group of amused girls following along in her wake.

Once they had found a spot where all the girls could dance Kitty gathered the girls around. "Now, I've been watching dance choreography online for this song. Jean can connect us so that you can all follow along with me. Sound like a good idea? It'll give the boys a real show." Kitty grinned mischievously at the group surrounding her.

"Sounds like fun sugah," Rogue drawled. "Let's do it." The others agreed and went to find a spot on the floor. When the current song ended, Nino cued up the requested song. As the girls started dancing in sync a crowd gathered to watch. All the girls were glad they didn't go for super high heels as it was difficult enough to do hip hop in the smaller heels.

Once the dance was completed everyone clapped for the girls. They bowed to their crowd and looked to see if the boys had been watching. They had been and Kurt asked, "Did you guys practice that before coming tonight?"

"No, it's the benefit of have a telepath in the group," Amanda laughed as Kurt nodded.

"I should have known Engel (angel), nobody has had any amount of free time this week to learn something like that." Kurt smiled at the girls.

"Did you have fun, Chere?" Remy whispered in Rogue's ear, startling the southerner at how close he was.

"Ah did, swamp rat," Rogue said as she turned. "Ah think ah'm gonna get something to drink before heading back to the dance floor though."

"Ah'll get it for you, Cherie. You go rest your feet because dis Cajun is up to dancing all night." With a flirty wink and smoky look the Cajun walked towards the bar.

Alya and Marinette squealed. "Rogue, you have that boy wrapped around your finger." Marinette said a little wistfully. "Maybe I should get some pointers from you."

Jean and Scott had headed back out to the dance floor. Kurt and Amanda walked over to the girls. Kurt decided now was the time to try to talk to Rogue.

"Schwester, can I talk to you for a moment," Kurt asked as he put a hand on her arm and started to pull her away from the group.

"What's up Kurt?" Rogue was curious as to why Kurt was being fidgety suddenly.

"It's Remy," Kurt said and didn't miss the narrowing of his sister's eyes. "Now give me a minute to explain before you bite my head off." At Rogue's slight nod her hurried on. "I just want to remind you that Remy is working for Magneto. I don't want you to get too involved and then get hurt when he leaves and we have to fight him once more."

Rogue's face had softened as the blue elf spoke. "Kurt, ah appreciate the concern but ah am very aware of who and what Remy is. Ah've had him in mah head before. Ah'm just going to have fun tonight. Nothing else is going to happen."

Kurt sighed with relief. "Thanks Rogue. I don't want to see you get hurt. Now, as soon as I can I am going to have the same conversation with Kitty."

Rogue laughed. "Good luck. Ah've tried to talk to her about Colossus but he is such a big teddy bear that she doesn't want to hear it. I think she has it worse for him then she did Lance."

Kurt groaned. "Great, well better give me some extra luck. Looks like they are coming off the floor now."

"Good luck," Rogue said over her shoulder as she walked forward to meet Remy. As she walked up to him she saw that he had bought 2 beers. "Oh, good. Ah was worried you get me a frou-frou drink."

"You southern gals don't do frou-frou," Remy said with a chuckle as Rogue took a long drag from her bottle. "Now, ah t'ink it's time to head back out on de floor." With a nod, they put their drinks down on the table where Alya, Marinette, Piotr, Amanda and Adrien were sitting for a quick break.

Marinette smiled at the goth and the red-eyed mutant as they walked back out on the floor. "They make such a cute couple," she sighed.

Adrien turned and looked at the pair. "I don't know Marinette. I'm not sure she's that into him."

Marinette looked at Adrien oddly while Alya exclaimed, "I don't think you know what you are talking about!"

Adrien looked stunned. "She's always pushing him away and telling him to back off."

Marinette and Alya laughed. "That's because she's scared to let him get too close to her. He has a reputation as a real ladies' man. Not to mention he kidnapped her at one point and took her to New Orleans."

"Even more reason why she wouldn't be interested in him," Adrien exclaimed as he turned once more to look at the southerners.

Piotr interrupted the discussion. "Da, but I think they are both infatuated with the other. Remy has never taken so much interest in any other girl. He was very distraught when Rogue was taken by Apocalypse's acolyte to open the last door. He was constantly pushing Wolverine and Sabretooth to find the girl."

Marinette and Alya looked at the Russian. "Wow," Alya said, "I didn't know you could speak."

Piotr blushed while Adrien laughed. "Spend some more time around this guy. He and Kurt will crack you up with jokes."

Piotr looked like he was about to say something else when he was interrupted by Kitty. "Like, come on Piotr, let's go burn up the dance floor and get away from some bums." With that she turned to glare at Kurt who also got a sympathetic look from Piotr.

Kurt walked over to the table and slouched down in a seat. "Well, that didn't go as planned."

Amanda giggled at her boyfriend. "Rogue warned you, remember?" Kurt had filled Amanda in on what was going on in between the talks with Rogue and Kitty.

"Rogue warned you about what?" Alya asked.

"Kurt was reminding them that Remy and Piotr are only here on behalf of Magneto and will be going back to him as soon as we are done here." Amanda grimaced. "I think that both would be alright with leaving Magneto but he has something over them to keep them in check."

Kurt nodded his agreement before turning to Alya. "If it's alright with Amanda, how about me and you do some dancing. With Nino in the booth I don't want you to feel left out."

Alya smiled. "Thanks. I'm not that great of a dancer though."

Kurt shrugged. "As long as you don't mind dancing with a fuzzy elf I think you'll be alright. C'mon," he stood up and offered Alya his arm while Amanda pushed her out of the booth.

"Go have fun girl," Amanda encouraged her friend as she looked like she might refuse.

Alya finally gave in and went out on the dance floor with Kurt. The three remaining at the table turned to see if Nino noticed Alya out on the dance floor. They were in luck as he happened to look up at just the right moment to notice Alya and Kurt working it on the dance floor. At first, they were confused by the frown that came over his face until they looked at the couple on the dance floor again. They were really working it for all they were worth and if you didn't know better could be construed as flirting. The three-watching laughed themselves silly until the song ended.

"I don't think Alya has to worry about whether Nino likes her or not anymore," Amanda said to Marinette as they tried to control themselves.

"You mean Alya likes Nino," Adrien asked surprised. At the girls' odd looks, which unfortunately he was starting to get used to, he said, "What? I'm beginning to think that I'm missing 90% of everything that is going on." He was exasperated with the whole situation.

Marinette had an apologetic look on her face when he looked at her again. "I'm sorry Adrien. It's just that during the week Alya has been talking about Nino non-stop and was unsure if Nino liked her in return."

"You should have asked me," the model said with a little pout that had the bluenette melting in her seat.

"I'm sorry, chere. I didn't even think about asking you but of course you would know if Nino liked Alya. I don't know why I didn't think to ask you earlier!" Marinette sent a small smile at Adrien who had a slight blush over his cheeks at the endearment Marinette had used.

"Well, princess, I might forgive you if you come out and dance with me again." Now it was Marinette's turn to blush.

"Deal," she said shyly as she worked her way out of the booth to take Adrien's arm. They were halfway to the dance floor when a yellow blur stopped them.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Marinette Dupain-Cheng," Chloe sneered. "Decided to go the slutty route to steal my Adrikins from me?"

Marinette narrowed her eyes. "Says the fashion wannabe in a skin-tight jumpsuit?"

Chloe gasped. "I will have you know that this an original Coco Chanel. Daddy had it commissioned for me last week."

Adrien stepped forward. "Chloe, this is getting ridiculous. You will always be my friend but I am not interested in anything more. Please back off."

Chloe stood there with her mouth hanging open for a minute before turning once more on Marinette. "You had your telepath friend brainwash him, didn't you? He doesn't realize how perfect we are for each other!"

Adrien and Marinette sighed. "Please Chloe, just drop it. Adrien has not been brainwashed he has just chosen, of his own free will, to dance with me. Now back off before you cause a scene."

Chloe didn't seem inclined to back off until she looked up to see some of their classmates circling them. "Back off Chloe," Alix growled. "I've been itching for a reason to smash your overly made up face since last Valentine's Day and the way you treated Kim."

Chloe seemed a little scared while Kim looked surprised before studying the short pink haired girl in front of him. Faced with the entire class Chloe seemed to lose some of her haughtiness. "Fine, but this is not over Mari-trash," She snarled as she turned and stomped away towards the exit.

Adrien and Marinette both relaxed and smiled at their classmates. "Thank for the help guys." Marinette smiled as the group dispersed. "We have some amazing classmates," Marinette said to Adrien. He nodded his agreement.

"They have a great class rep too," he whispered in her ear. This caused Marinette to blush as they walked the rest of the way to the dance floor. As they hit the dance floor, the music slowed down to give the dancers a chance to catch their breath. Marinette looked a little awkward but Adrien just pulled her closer as they started swaying to the music. Marinette was floating on cloud nine being held this closely to Adrien. Adrien was happy to be dancing with Marinette as well. He was so confused about what about he felt towards Marinette and Ladybug. He hoped after this weekend he would have some clarity on the situation.

The rest of the night went smoothly and everybody was disappointed when it was 4 a.m. and time to head home. Unfortunately, that meant they only had 3 hours to sleep before heading into the wilderness for survival training with Wolverine.

XXXX

What do think? Should there be a reveal in the next chapter? Let me know in the little comment box!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Saturday morning started way too early for the group of teens. After only 3 hours of sleep everyone was crabby and snapping. Ladybug and Cat Noir showed up right at seven and even Cat didn't really say anything to anyone. Not even any puns. If the rest of the group was a little more awake they might have wondered why the French heroes were just as tired at them but nobody was awake enough to care. Logan looked at the group and decided to give them a little bit of a break since they were going to need to focus this weekend. "Good news for you guys," he announced as they loaded into the van. "It's going to take us 2 hours to reach our starting point so you can sleep on the way." The group let out little cheers as they settled in and got comfortable. They were barely out of the drive when they were all out. Logan and Storm looked at each other before grinning.

"This weekend is going to be eventful," Ororo commented as Logan turned towards the interstate. Once they reached Fontainebleau they found the spot they had re-conned earlier in the week. Nobody had been to this part of the forest in quite a while so it was the best place for their training.

They woke up the sleeping teens and started unpacking what supplies they brought. "Now, for the first exercise I want you to scout the area for the best place to set up a camp that would be difficult for opponents to find but will provide you with what you need to survive. This is a group effort. And just so you don't think I'm going easy on you I have set up booby traps in certain areas so watch where you are going. Storm is air support for in case you don't heed my warning. Once camp has been set up we will commence with the second training session. You have 45 minutes. Ready, set, go!"

The group started scrambling. "We need to find high ground to take in our surroundings and figure out which direction to head." Cyclops looked around and noticed a descent sized hill within 5 minutes from where they currently were. "This way." The group headed towards higher ground as a fog began to move in.

"What's with the weather?" Cat Noir looked around at the growing mist.

"It's Storm's way of making sure civilians don't see us wondering around in our uniforms. It's also probably going to factor in to the next training run." Jean frowned. She wasn't much of a country girl and had in fact spent most of her life in the city and wasn't too comfortable in the woods.

They reached the top of the hill quickly and looked around as quickly as possible. Off in the distance they noticed a break in the trees. "Kurt, can you teleport over there and find out what is there?"

Kurt nodded and headed off in the direction Cyclops indicated. In a couple of minutes, he was back. "There's a creek down there running through the woods. That's probably the ideal direction to head in."

With a nod, the group headed off once again. They were down to only having 35 minutes left. If they failed this they knew that Logan would punish them and make the rest of the sessions even harder.

Luckily, they managed to find a great spot to set up camp. The area was surrounded by a thick grove of trees and was within walking distance of the creek. Using what they had available in their packs as well as their powers they were able to find and set up camp within the time frame Logan had allotted.

Cat Noir and Ladybug felt a little out of place since this was their first time doing this sort of thing while the rest of the group had been doing these trainings for the last couple of years. Once everything was set up and the tents were pitched and covered with leaves to camouflage them the group started a small fire to begin preparing some food for lunch.

Storm and Wolverine showed up as the food was ready to eat. Wolverine was pleased that they had found a great spot for a camp. As everyone was eating Logan was planning the next training exercise. "You guys enjoy a little break while I go set up the next training exercise."

With a nod, everyone decided to head towards the creek and get some water. Storm used her powers to put out the fire they had used to cook the food. The weather was unusually warm for a fall day and with all their gear plus their uniforms everyone was getting a bit overheated. Once they made it to the stream they slipped off their boots and waded into the shallow part. Ladybug and Cat couldn't really take their boots off so they went upstream a little way and worked on filling the water jugs. Ladybug wandered into the water since she knew her suit would dry out quickly once she was out of the water.

Cat Noir perched on the side of the stream and watched her fill the jugs. A few minutes of peace and quiet passed before suddenly they heard a screech coming from downstream. The duo ran towards where they left their friends only to find everyone laughing as a soaked Kitty stormed out of the creek towards Kurt. "You are dead fuzzy man," she yelled as Kurt took off running into the woods.

"I get the feeling we missed something," Cat said with a grin as he watched the antics.

Ladybug laughed with everyone else when Kitty finally managed to get in front of Kurt and grab the front of his uniform. The blue elf yelped and teleported away but Kitty still had a hold of him so when he popped up behind Amanda in the water he wasn't prepared for the shove from Kitty causing him to splash into the deeper water. As everyone laughed Kurt walked out of the water and frowned at them. He then proceeded to teleport above their heads before shaking the water out of his fur onto them and teleporting away to a nearby branch once more laughing the entire time.

Cat and Ladybug laughed at their friends and the blue fur that was now stuck to their uniforms. As they laughed they missed a figure sneaking up behind them. Before they were aware of anyone the figure grabbed their shoulders. They reacted instantly to throw their attacker over their shoulders only to find themselves now in the stream with a laughing Kurt.

"We couldn't leave you guys out of all the fun," Kurt laughed as Cat hissed at being suddenly drenched. The hiss only managed to make everyone laugh harder. It looked like a full-blown water fight was about to start when they were interrupted by Logan.

"Enough fun and games. It's time to get to work," Logan growled. "We're going to split into two teams. How did you want to split it?"

"Guys vs girls," Jean smirked at Scott. "The boys could use a butt whooping." This caused all the girls to smirk at the boys.

Logan rolled his eyes. "I'll split the groups. We don't want anyone to be complaining later. Cyclops, your team will consist of Kitty, Colossus, Amanda, and Kurt. Jean, your team is Rogue, Gambit, Ladybug, and Cat Noir. There are two paths that lead to the same goal. Once you guys decide which team is going to take which path I will give you a map that leads to the goal. The winners will have a nice break tonight while the losers will make supper and make sure everything is ready for the night."

The two groups whooped and got ready to split up. Jean's group was assigned the east route and the Scott's group was sent down the west route. Once they had their maps the groups set off. Jean's group carefully made their way down the first part of the path. Ladybug and Jean were at the front of the group while Gambit brought up the rear to keep an eye on their backs. They made the first two meters without any issues.

However, as they started walking further, Jean tripped over something causing a volley of projectiles to shoot right at the group. They all ducked quickly out of the way Ladybug and Rogue jumped off the trail and fell right into a pit. Groaning, they took in their surroundings to see how to get out quickly. Each tried to jump up and get a hand hold on the wall only to fall right back down. Rogue and Ladybug looked at each other.

"I'll give you boost," Ladybug said putting her hands together. Nodding Rogue took a running leap using Ladybug's hands to propel herself out of the pit. Once she was out Ladybug flung her yoyo up to Rogue who caught it and held on so Ladybug could pull herself out.

"Is it just me," Rogue asked as she dusted her clothes off, "or is Wolverine losing his touch?"

Ladybug shrugged, "How would I know? This is my first time but so far I am unimpressed."

Rogue laughed as she looked for the others. "Where did everyone get to?"

Frowning, Ladybug looked around as well. "I'm not sure. Let's go check it out." They started walking forward when the suddenly saw three people fall out of the tree a couple of feet ahead of them.

Ladybug started laughing when she saw Cat squashed beneath Jean and Gambit.

Rogue laughed too before saying, "Ah thought cats always landed on their feet!"

"I stopped asking him about that a while back. Apparently, this cat didn't get that memo." The girls laughed some more as they walked forward to check on their teammates as they stood and dusted themselves off.

"Well, that explains why no one was around to help us up out of the pit we found," Ladybug said as they started carefully walking further down the trail.

"Sorry, M'Lady," Cat said, "but we were a little tied up."

"Somet'ing we could try sometime, chere," Remy purred in Rogue's ear earning him an elbow in the stomach.

"Cajun, ah think ya need ta have your head examined," Rogue said with a roll of her eyes.

"Are you offering?" Gambit grunted as Rogue once again put her elbow into his gut.

They were about to get into another argument when suddenly a bolt of lightning hit the ground right in front of the group as dark clouds rolled in and it started to rain. "Well, this ain't good," Jean muttered as she looked around for Storm. Not seeing the mutant, she motioned the others to follow her. Everyone was battle ready, not sure where the next strike was coming from.

As they moved forward down the path, Jean opened her senses to look for Ororo. She frowned when she didn't find anything. "I can't sense Storm," she informed her team. "She must be wearing a blocker to insure we can't 'cheat'."

Cat frowned. "Wouldn't that technically be cheating?"

"No, it's called evening the battlefield," Jean said with a small smile. She noticed that the trees cleared out a little further ahead. "She's going to have a clear shot when we have to cross the clearing. We need to find a way to distract her so we can cross."

Nodding the others looked around. "It'll take a little longer," Cat said, "but we could try circling the clearing so we didn't have to pass through the open area."

Nodding, Jean took stock of the situation. "I really don't like the idea of losing more time to Scott's team. Ladybug, can you use your Lucky Charm to get us something to hide us from view?"

"That's not going to be helpful in the long run," Ladybug informed. "After I use my Lucky Charm I have to drop my transformation after 5 minutes. Recharging would take longer than going around the clearing would."

Jean nodded. "Alright, then we'll go around the clearing. Let's get moving."

As they started to work their way around the clearing a strong gust of wind sent them hurtling backwards straight into the clearing. Storm was hovering in a mass of clouds that had kept her hidden from the team.

The group dropped into ready stances as they proceeded to try to make their way across the clearing. However, every time they made a move to get across the clearing a bolt of lightning or a strong wind would block their path.

"Looks like we are goin' have to engage, petite," Gambit said as he charged as card and threw it towards Storm. It exploded in front of her and succeeded in knocking her off balance for a bit giving Ladybug a chance to wrap her yoyo around Storm's ankle and pull her to the ground. Once she was down they tried once more to move to the other side of the clearing.

Storm had not taken kindly to the hard landing thanks to Ladybug and proceeded to call a whirlwind that picked up the heroes and tossed them around the clearing. This gave Storm the chance to rise back up to see everything clearly. After 30 seconds, she dropped the group back at the entrance of the clearing. It was obvious that the spinning had turned them around as they headed back into the woods on wobbly legs.

"Alright, going around isn't going to work. Are you willing to try your lucky charm?" Jean looked at Ladybug who shrugged.

"We can try it or we can just take her out," Cat answered for her. "I didn't hear anywhere in the little briefing that said we couldn't engage hostiles if we came across them. She was pretty ticked when LB pulled her to the ground. Does anyone have any rope to where we could tie her up until we get further down the trail?"

Jean nodded in thought. "That's true. I never would have considered taking her out since she is a friend. But you are correct, she is an opponent in this training session. I have some rope in my bag. We could use it."

Rogue and Gambit nodded. They had also packed ropes because they did not know what traps Wolverine had laid out.

"Alright, Ladybug will grab Storm and pull her down so we can tie her up. Gambit, do you think you can distract her with one of your cards again?"

"Ah don' t'ink dat will work twice, petite, but we'll give it a try. What's de backup plan for distracting her?"

"Ah could make her think ah'm coming after her. Cat could lift me up on his staff and drop me from behind. She'll move to avoid me and Ladybug can get her."

"What about you, chere? If you don't get Storm you're gonna get hurt from a fall at dat height."

"You'll just have to catch me then Swamp Rat," Rogue smirked at Remy who just smirked back.

"Or I could catch you telekinetically," Jean rolled her eyes at the flirting.

Rogue shrugged. "Sure, if ya wanna do it the easy way." The group allowed themselves a small laugh as they prepared to head back into the clearing.

"Ready," Jean questioned. When she received nods they all rushed back out of the woods. Remy charged a card and threw it at Storm who pushed it away with a gust of wind. It succeeded in distracting her from Rogue and Cat behind her but only for a couple of seconds. Rogue was almost on her back when she flew out of the way. With everything else going on she missed Ladybug twirling her yoyo and grabbing her ankle. Once they had pulled Storm back to the ground and Rogue was also safely back on terra firma Jean and Remy quickly moved towards Storm to tie her up.

Storm had other ideas however and called on a strong wind to push everyone back. Rogue and Ladybug worked on circling around while Remy and Jean distracted storm with exploding cards and telekinetic blasts. Cat climbed a tree and waiting for Storm to get in the right position to pounce.

Once she was under the branch he was on, he pounced only to be blown straight up by a gust of wind. With a yelp, he started on a downward trajectory. Luckily, Jean was able to grab him before he hit. This freed up Storm to blow Gambit into a tree hard knocking the wind out of him.

With her attention split between those three she did not hear Ladybug and Rogue until it was too late. Ladybug wrapped her up in her yoyo string while Rogue touched her just long enough to knock her out for a couple of minutes.

Rogue quickly pushed all the thoughts she absorbed from Storm to the back of her mind as she and Ladybug rushed to check on the rest of their team. "We don't have much time before she comes to. Let's get outta here," Rogue pulled a shaken Gambit to his feet as they quickly made their way to the other side of the clearing.

"Let's hope that Scott's team is having a difficult time too," Jean murmured as they quickly but carefully made their way down the trail.

"And ah'll have to remember to stop underestimating Logan," Rogue agreed. "Ah made the mistake of saying he was losing his touch after Ladybug and ah fell into a pit that was easy to get out of. Apparently, he was just warming up."

They followed the trail to the entrance to a cave. Jean checked the map a few times to make sure they were actually supposed to go into the cave. Frowning, she decided that they needed to get moving again and led the way into the cave.

Once inside they quickly pulled flashlights out of their packs. Ladybug and Cat Noir didn't have to worry about packing things like that since their weapons provided them with anything they needed while transformed. They walked down the path checking for any trip wires or hidden weapons. The cave was pretty dank and it looked like no one had been in it for a long time. They had been walking for about 10 minutes when they heard a rumbling coming from behind them.

"Please don't tell me Logan has gone all Indiana Jones on us," Rogue grumbled.

They listened for a few more minutes before realizing that the sound had stopped. Curious, they turned their flashlights behind them. Not knowing what the sound was or what trap could be coming for them they decided to walk back towards the sound to see what had happened. They had only walked for about a minute when they heard another sound behind them.

"That came from the direction we were headed," Jean frowned. "What is going on here?" As if to answer their question they found that a bunch of rocks now blocked the entrance to the cave.

"If that sound meant we were trapped from exiting the cave from this direction does that mean we're stuck in here?" Ladybug was getting a little freaked out. She did not want to get stuck in a cave. Cat put a reassuring arm around his lady.

"Don't worry bugaboo," he said softly. "We'll get out of here. If nothing else we have your Lucky Charm and my Cataclysm to get those rocks moved."

Nodding the spotted heroine started walking back in the direct they just back tracked from. The team wasn't that surprised when they found that direction had been blocked off as well.

"Alright, we need a plan," Jean said. "I can lift some of the rocks off telekinetically but there is no guarantee that if I move the wrong rock it won't come sliding down and crush us. Gambit, do you think that you could charge a card and blow a hole in it?"

Gambit shook his head. "Ah would have de same issue. If ah used too much charge it could cause de ceiling to collapse on us. If ah don' use enough charge den it could dislodge a rock and cause dat to collapse."

"Good thing we haven't used my Lucky Charm yet," Ladybug commented. "I can use it and hope that it gives us something that will protect us as we try to move the rocks."

Rogue nodded, "That's a good plan. Let's try moving some of the rocks by hand so we can get an idea of how thick this blockade is."

The team started to move some of the smaller rocks being careful not to disturb any that looked like they were supporting the bigger rocks. They found that it looked as if the rocks were thick enough to where they would not be able to tunnel out by hand but not so thick that one of Gambit's cards couldn't take care of them.

"Lucky Charm," Ladybug called. When it dropped into her hands she saw that she had what looked like a box. Frowning she studied the box and found a button. When she pushed the button, it opened into a half dome. It was made from a weird material that was red with black spots. As she studied the area to figure out where to set up she noticed that spots highlighted the area just about where they had made their little hole and then the area against the wall on the right-hand side of the cavern.

"Alright, Gambit, can you charge a card and have it hold off exploding for a bit so you will have time to get back here with us?" The Cajun nodded and the spotted hero moved to put the dome up in the spot she was shown. "Alright, we are going to need you to put the card here." She indicated the area right about the hole they had made. "Then get back here with the rest of us."

Gambit did as he was told and joined the rest of the group just as his card exploded. The force of the explosion almost made the little dome shake off the wall it was leaning against. Once the dust had settled the group moved to see how it had worked. It had worked to get the first set of rocks moved out of the way but they soon discovered that another set of rocks was blocking the passage. These looked to have been there for quite some time since they had some moss growing on them from the little droplets of water that was dripping from the ceiling.

"Alright, my turn," Cat said. "Cataclysm!" After he called his power Cat jumped towards the pile of rocks and touched the center of them. The cataclysm moved up and down the rocks turning them into a fine powder as they fell to the ground.

The group quickly made their way further thru the cave and found themselves in a clearing when they finally exited the cave. At the center of the clearing was a bundle. They figured that was their target and started walking towards it as Ladybug and Cat Noir's miraculous' beeped at them, reminding them they only had a couple of minutes before detransforming. Seeing there was nothing else around the clearing they started making their way quickly but carefully towards the bundle.

Everybody was a little startled when the bundle started to move. "What the heck is going on?" Rogue was the closest and pulled the blanket off only to find Warren Worthington III looking up at her.

"Did Logan kidnap a multimillionaire just for training?" Ladybug yelped as she recognized Warren from various magazines he had been featured in.

"No," Jean said with a small laugh. "Warren is a mutant, also known around New York as the Angel." Rogue was working on untying him when Scott's group made his way into the clearing. Once Scott's group arrived they were attacked by a purple haired ninja. She had long hair that went down to her butt and was wearing a purple bathing suit that matched her hair and eyes. She had thigh high boots of the same color that were flat and looked to be made of soft material to make it easier to sneak around.

The whole group stopped and blinked for a second. They were unfamiliar with this opponent. They quickly regrouped and formed a united front to face this new opponent.

"Guys," Ladybug whispered to Rogue and Jean, "Cat and I are about to detransform. We're not going to be much help here."

Jean looked around, "Head to that nearby group of trees and take care of whatever you need to and then get back out here." Nodding the two French heroes took off.

They were quickly cut off by the Canadian feral mutant that had arranged the training session. They quickly slid to a stop and looked around for another escape route as their miraculous beep again warning them they only had 1 minute before their transformations dropped.

"Logan, we don't have time for this," Cat tried to reason with the mutant in front of them.

"You guys need to be able to defend yourselves without your magic too. Besides, we're about to even the playing field." With a wave of his hand a pulse of energy washed across the field. Scott turned and tried to blast Wolverine out of the Ladybug and Chat Noir's way only to find that his powers weren't working.

At the same time Ladybug and Cat Noir lost their transformations and turned back into Marinette and Adrien. Gob smacked they both just stood there and stared at the other. "Well, this is not how I expected our reveal to go," Adrien said as he caught a silent Plagg. Frowning he looked down at the Kwami that was usually demanding cheese very vocally as soon as he was out of the miraculous.

Marinette had a similar concern as she caught a very still Tikki. "Tikki," she questioned as she tried to wake the little creature. "What happened to Tikki?" Marinette was on the verge of tears as she rounded on Logan. "What did you do? Why isn't Tikki moving?"

Logan looked a little shocked. "Leech has the ability to nullify energy fields. I was trying to teach the kids how to not rely on their powers while fighting. I didn't know it would affect your whatever you called them. Take them about a half mile down this path. It should be far enough away from Leech's powers to not affect them anymore."

Nodding the two teens set off at a run into the woods. Once they were about 300 meters away the Kwamis started to stir a little. This gave the teens hope and so they sped up as much as they could. Once they were a half mile away the Kwamis were fully aware of what was going on.

"Oh, Tikki," Marinette cried with tears running down her cheeks. "I was so scared something permanent had happened to you." She quickly dug a cookie out of her purse for the little red and black creature.

"What happened," Marinette heard another small voice ask.

"Plagg, you're alright," Adrien was so happy to see his Kwami moving around that he had no qualms about the smell of the camembert he pulled out of his shirt pocket.

Now that they were sure their Kwamis were alright the two realized what had happened. "Ummm, hi," Marinette gave a small wave as she scuffed her foot at the dirt path while avoiding Adrien's gaze.

"Hi," Adrien answered back. He was trying to wrap his head around the fact that Marinette was his lady. _At least that would explain why I'm attracted to Marinette even though I love Ladybug, who is Marinette so technically I've been in love with Marinette this entire time. But what does she think about me? She can barely talk to me as Adrien. What if she still hates me for the gum thing last year. Or maybe she's scared of me because of my dad._

As Adrien was trying to work things out Marinette was having an anxiety attack of her own. _Oh no, what happens now. No wonder Tikki didn't want us to reveal ourselves to the other. How am I supposed to act around Adrien now? How am I supposed to act around Cat? I still can't believe they are the same people. Adrien doesn't act anything like Cat Noir. What am I supposed to do now? I thought I knew Adrien but apparently I don't. What does this mean for our friendship? What does it mean for the crush I've had on him?_

The Kwamis were floating in the air now that their strength was coming back watching their holders mentally freak out.

Plagg finally had enough. "You know, your friends are back there fighting that purple haired ninja person. Shouldn't you be helping them?"

The teens were so lost in thought that they didn't hear the black cat talking to them. With a frown, he flew in between the two and bopped both on their foreheads. This startled them out of their thoughts. "What do you want Plagg? I have to conserve your cheese supply to make it through until tomorrow evening," Adrien grumped at the black flying cat.

Plagg frowned. "I was saying that you two should go back and help with the fight with the purple haired girl back there."

"You're right," Marinette agreed. "You two stay here and we'll be back as soon as we can." With that she ran off back down the path. Adrien quickly followed her.

"We need to talk about this when we get back to camp," he said as they ran together down the path. Marinette frowned but nodded.

As the two re-entered the clearing they saw that Logan and the purple haired girl was doing a pretty good job of keeping the mutants from getting to Warren. The two had been gone about 15 minutes for the round trip so there had been quite a bit of fighting going on. They saw that Amanda was limping and sporting some bruises. The rest of the team weren't fairing much better. Kitty was doing alright holding her own thanks to Ninjutsu training Logan had been giving her. Rogue and Gambit were also faring better as they also had some martial arts training. Rogue's power was only useful if she could get close to someone so hand to hand combat was mandatory training for her and all thieves in the Guild received Martial Arts training to help with coordination, balance, and body control.

As Rogue once again went up against the ninja and Remy went up against Logan, Kitty and Nightcrawler snuck around the back to get to Warren. They were almost there when Logan and the girl managed to knock Rogue and Remy back enough to round on the new opponents. Kurt tried to 'port away with Warren only to remember that he didn't have his powers now. Luckily, he had his fencing abilities and could use those to parry some of the blows the girl threw his direction.

When Kitty and Kurt were knocked back from Warren the group once more came together. It seemed that if they weren't trying to get to Warren they weren't going to get attacked so that meant that they could form a strategy during the breather.

Scott frowned as he studied the situation. Apparently going head to head one at a time wasn't working. They needed to double up on the opponents while the others worked their way around to Warren. "Alright guys, I have a plan." The group stepped a little closer to their leader to see what he was thinking. "Obviously, this one on one thing is not working in our favor. I need two groups of three. I want one group to attack Wolverine and the other to attack the new girl. That leaves 4 of us to circle around and get Warren out of there. Marinette and Adrien, do you guys have any hand to hand combat training?"

"I was in karate for a bit a few years ago but that's about it," Adrien shrugged. "I do take fencing lessons every Friday if that can be helpful."

Marinette just shook her head, "No training for me except what I've learned as Ladybug."

Scott nodded. "Alright. Adrien, Kurt, and Remy I want you to attack the girl. She's using a sword so your fencing skills might come in handy. It will at least give you an advantage on reading where she is going to strike."

"Kitty and Rogue, you're with me. We're going to distract Logan. That means that Jean, Colossus, Marinette, and Amanda are going to circle around and get Warren out of there. You four do not engage anyone unless forced to." The group nodded and on Scott's signal they went acted on their orders.

It went fairly smoothly when they finally decided to attack in mass instead of trying to be civil and fight one on one. After another 15 minutes of bangs and bruises for the six fighters they were relieved when Warren was announcing he had been freed.

"Alright, good job." Logan grunted. He was about to signal Leech to turn the power back on when suddenly Remy grabs Rogue and kisses her.

"What are you doing Gumbo," Logan growled as he jumped forward and threw Gambit into a tree away from Rogue who had a dumbfounded look on her face.

Shaking his head, Remy wobbled to his feet. "Ah saw an opportunity and ah took it." At that point the energy dampener was released. Remy soon found himself starring at the world upside down from a tree branch with a very angry Kurt holding him up by the ankle.

"Kurt," Rogue yelled. "Stop it! It was just a kiss. You act like he tried to defile me right here in front of everyone. Put him down!"

"Ok, Schweitzer," Kurt smirked as he dropped Remy, who would have landed head first on the forest floor if Jean hadn't grabbed him telekinetically and set him nicely on the ground.

It looked like another argument was about to erupt when suddenly there was lightning all around them. "That is ENOUGH," Storm bellowed from above. "It has been a long, exhausting day. We will head back to camp, introduce everyone properly to Betsy, Leech and Warren, get some food and then have a rational discussion. Am I clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," was heard from everyone in the group. They turned and started walking back to camp eventually pairing off the talk amongst themselves. The girls found themselves in a clump trying to get information from Rogue about the kiss.

"Wow, that was, like, so crazy romantic. Is he as good a kisser as he claims to be?" Kitty interrogated Rogue as they walked.

"Since ah don't have anything to compare it against ah don't think ah can answer." Rogue's face was red at the thought of being kissed in such a way.

"I have to agree with Kitty," Marinette broke in. "That was way romantic." The rest of the girls nodded their agreement before turning on Marinette.

"So, you're Ladybug, huh," Kitty said as she studied the bluenette. "I had a hunch you were but no hard proof. I know Amanda and Rogue had mentioned the idea as well."

The two girls nodded while Jean added, "I knew from the time we went to lunch with you on the first day. You thought patterns don't change that much from when you are a civilian to when you are Ladybug. They just have more static. I'm guessing that's from the magic you use to transform?"

Marinette shrugged, "Probably, which reminds me. Tikki!" Marinette stopped and looked around thinking they should be close to where they left the Kwamis.

"Who's Tikki," Amanda questioned.

"She's a little magical creature who gives me my powers. We had to get her and Plagg out of the range of Leech's powers because he made them comatose or something." Marinette continued to look around and call for her Kwami.

Tikki popped up a couple of minutes later yawning. "Sorry Marinette. We needed some sleep to fully recover our strength after that little fiasco."

Marinette pulled her Kwami to her and hugged her as best she could. "Guys, this is Tikki. Tikki, these are the X-Women, well, most of them."

"Hi guys," Tikki said. "I was hoping we would never meet because then you would know Marinette's secret, but apparently that ship has sail," Tikki giggled a little at that.

"You're adorable," Kitty squealed. "Hey, Marinette, how do you feel about Adrien being Chat Noir?"

"I'm not really sure," Marinette replied. "I thought that I knew Adrien but he's never really been like Chat. Don't get me wrong, Chat is fantastic. He's my best friend besides Alya. But his puns drive me nuts and he's always flirting. Those aren't qualities I've ever seen in Adrien. I'm conflicted." Marinette sighed as her shoulders sagged.

"You sound like Rogue talking about Remy," Kitty giggled. "Although Rogue has some good points about Remy, I can say that from what I have seen on Alya's blog and since meeting you guys that Ladybug is the only one he really flirts with." Kitty put her arm around Marinette's shoulders. "Try not to stress about it. Once we're back you two can talk and things will be fine."

The group chit chatted about random thoughts as they made their way back to the camp. Once they arrived at the camp they were introduced to Betsy Braddock, Warren Worthington III, and Dorian Leech. It turned out that everyone but Remy, Marinette, and Adrien had already met Warren after he helped them with Apocalypse. He had met Elizabeth while touring through Europe. Her family was from England and she did some modeling.

Adrien was aware of this because his dad had used her for some of his female perfume ads. Once everyone met Leech Adrien wandered over to talk to Elizabeth much to Marinette's annoyance. She might not know what to think after discovering he was Cat Noir but she was still jealous when he talked with another woman. Especially one that was scantily clad and seemed to ooze sensuality.

Kitty patted her on the back as she walked by and whispered, "You can always get back at him by talking the Warren. He's a sweet guy and good looking as well." With a wink, she continued with helping gather wood for the fire because, let's face it, nobody would eat anything if she did any of the actual cooking.

Marinette decided to take Kitty's advice and headed over to talk with the blonde mutant who was currently catching up with Rogue. As she walked up the two turned to greet her. "Hi," Marinette said shyly. "So, how did you two meet?"

Rogue smiled at Warren, "It was over Christmas a year ago. There were reports about an Angel catching purse snatchers and such and we figured it meant we had found another mutant. It was just Scott and me there over the break so we talked the Prof into letting us try to recruit him. Magneto was trying to recruit him as well and we ended up fighting together to get Magneto to back off."

"Wow! That was some Christmas break you had." Marinette watched the two. It didn't seem like there was anything more than friendship between the two mutants. "How come you didn't go with them and join the X-Men?" Marinette asked.

Warren shrugged, "My parents didn't know about my wings and I wasn't ready to tell them. So, I opted to stay home and head back to finish my last year at boarding school. Now that I have graduated and my parents are traveling more I have been considering joining them. But then I met Betsy at a party in Berlin and we hit it off. So, I've been traveling with her to different modeling gigs."

"And what are Betsy's powers?" Marinette and Rogue both looked expectantly at Warren.

"She's a telepath that project her ability into a psychic blade that can be used to pierce a person's mind and render them unconscious."

"Wicked," Marinette said. "It's a good thing she isn't a bad guy." The three laughed. As they shared stories about school and other activities they were called over to eat. While Marinette had been talking with Warren and Rogue Adrien had been watching while chatting with Betsy.

"Good to see you again Betsy," Adrien greeted as he walked up to her.

"Hey Adrien," Betsy greeted with a hug and kisses on both checks. "You're growing up well. How did you get involved in the superhero business?"

Adrien shrugged and rubbed the back of his head. "Happenstance. I was chosen by the Guardian to be the holder of the Black Cat miraculous. It's been a blast. Gets me out of the house." He chuckled at the last part.

"And it looks like you met a special someone," Betsy grinned.

It always freaked Adrien out when she was able to pull information like that out of the air. "What are your powers? And when did you learn Ninjutsu?"

Betsy laughed her throaty laugh. "I can read minds, dear. And I've been trained in the art of Ninjutsu since I could walk. My father and mother wanted my brother and I to be able to defend ourselves should anyone get the bright idea to kidnap us. Not that they had much to worry about after we hit puberty and developed our powers. My brother is super strong and can fly. I always wanted to fly but being about to produce a blade in my hand is a nice substitution."

"That's really awesome," Adrien said excited. Plagg was sitting on his shoulder and had to agree.

"What does the blade look like," Plagg asked. He was intrigued with the purple haired ninja. "And has your hair always been purple?"

Betsy laughed again. "My hair is naturally blonde but everyone always loved my eye color so I decided to make my hair match." With that explained she quickly turned her back to the camp to show Adrien and Plagg the purple blade that extended from her hand. It was about 4 inches long and just a little wider then her hand. "This will render any person unconscious. If I choose I can completely destroy that person's brain. I learned that the hard way one time when a guy jumped me in an alley on my way home one night about 2 years ago."

"That's rough," Adrien said as he placed his hand on her arm. Betsy smiled at him.

"Thanks, Adrien." Smiling deviously, she brought the subject back around when she noticed Adrien staring at Marinette across the camp. "Nice job on sidetracking our conversation but it's time to get back to your special person." She waggled her eyebrows at the blonde boy who let out a laugh.

"She's amazing. She's strong, confident, kind, and caring. I should have seen that she was Marinette earlier. They both have a lot of the same qualities." Adrien trails off as he watches Marinette turn and start walking towards the seats around the fire.

Betsy waves her hand in front of his face, "Man, you've got it bad. You have to talk to her after dinner. Who knows, she might feel the same way about you." With that she smirked and worked her way towards Warren. They greeted each other with a kiss before getting heckled by the rest of the group. Leech was watching everything from the sidelines while eating the food Ororo handed him.

After dinner was all finished and the food and dishes cleaned up Adrien worked his way over to Marinette. "Mari, we really need to talk."

Marinette squeaked in surprise before composing herself and nodding. "You sure are a sneaky kitty, aren't you?" She teased as she walked with him off into the forest a little way for some privacy.

Adrien smiled shyly. Now that they were alone he wasn't sure what to say. Marinette wasn't sure either so they both stood there in awkward silence until Tikki and Plagg broke in.

"Plagg!" Tikki air tackled her friend who just laughed and hugged her back.

"Tikki," Plagg laughed, "you're going to cut my air supply off if you squeeze my neck any harder." The two holders smiled at their Kwamis as they continued their reunion.

"They sure are happy to see each other, aren't they," Marinette said with a smile as she continued to watch.

"Yeah, they are." Adrien scuffed his shoe against the dirt. "Are you upset that I'm Cat Noir?"

Marinette looked surprised, "I'm not upset. Just surprised really. I mean, you don't act anything like Cat Noir at school or any time I've been around you. I just realized that I don't know you as well as I thought. I mean, if anyone is going to be disappointed it should be you! I'm nothing like Ladybug, I'm clumsy, shy, and unsure while she's brave and never trips over her own feet."

Adrien put a hand on her shoulder to get her to quit pacing. "Mari, you are more like Ladybug then you give yourself credit for. For one thing, you are the same person," Adrien grinned a lopsided grin at her causing her to chuckle.

"True," she said. "But still, the mask is the confident version."

"I don't know. You've stood up to Chloe, you're our class representative, and you've designed glasses and an album cover for Jagged Stone. How can you say you are nothing like Ladybug?" Adrien looked at her.

Marinette thought about what he said. "I guess you're right. Before I became Ladybug, I wouldn't have had the courage to do those things. But what about you? You're a sweet, kind, friendly guy at school who never makes puns or flirts with anyone!"

Adrien chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, when I'm Cat I'm free to be who I want to be. As Adrien, I have to watch everything I say and do because of my father's company. But I can just have fun. And in my defense, I only flirt with you."

Marinette studied him for a few seconds. "Well, maybe it's time to get to know each other a little better."

"Well, there is one thing I was curious about," Adrien said, not making eye contact.

"What," Marinette questioned as she tried to get a look at his face.

"How come you stutter around me?" Adrien's face turned red as he blurted the question out.

As soon as the question was out Marinette's face also turned red. "Well," she scuffed at the ground with the toe of her shoe, "you see, I have a crush on you." She spit it out as quickly as Adrien had asked.

Adrien raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Really? So, it's not because I intimidate you or something?"

Marinette laughed. "No. Why would I be intimidated? I'm not like Chloe who thinks that status is everything. It's just that you're so kind and friendly and when you gave me your umbrella and it closed on me and you laughed a real laugh, I don't know." Marinette cut herself off when she realized she was babbling.

Adrien laughed at the blush that covered her entire face. It was the same laugh as the day of the umbrella incident which caused Marinette to blush harder. "Come on," Adrien said as put an arm around her shoulders. "We've been gone a while and the others will be wondering where we are."

Marinette nodded as she tried to keep from freaking out about the fact that Adrien Agreste had his arm around her shoulders. As they walked back into camp they received some smug looks and Marinette knew she was going to be interrogated when it was time for sleep. And she was right.

As soon as Logan called for everyone to turn in Kitty, Rogue, Amanda and Jean pounced. "What happened out there? Are you guys together now? Did he kiss you?"

Marinette laughed at the barrage of questions. "No, we are not together now and he did not kiss me. We decided that we should get to know each other better. We'll see where things go from there. There's always hope, right?"

The girls grinned. They talked for a bit longer before they were told firmly to 'stop the yapping and get to napping' by some of the guys. With a last laugh, the girls turned in for the night. Once they stopped talking the physical toll of the day caught up with them and they were quick to fall asleep.

XXX

 **This chapter was a bit longer then I originally thought it would be. Let me know what you think and the next chapter will wrap up the weekend. It doesn't seem to matter what I have planned out when I start a story, the characters and storyline always seem to twist on me. LOL. I hope you enjoyed!**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Sunday morning found everyone awake at sunrise to eat breakfast, tear down camp and get the van packed. Once everything was put away Logan started to explain their next training exercise when he was interrupted by the Professor. "Fury has found the second fragment. I need you to get to these coordinates ASAP! I am 1 minute away in the X-Jet. Logan please send Betsy and Warren with the van back to the mansion." Nodding Logan turned to see the two in question already loading into the van and pulling out.

"Alright, you heard the man. Let's get moving," Logan directed as the X-Jet appeared overhead. Nightcrawler teleported a couple of people up while Jean telekinetically took 3 more with her. The rest were put in the jet by Storm and her winds. Once everyone was loaded the jet took off towards Paris.

On the way, they were alerted to an akuma attack around the Eiffel Tower. "Sounds like we're going to have a paw-fuly long day, M'Lady," Adrien said with a wink to Marinette.

Marinette groaned as she rolled her eyes and bopped her kitty on his nose. "And here I thought I might get a reprieve from all the puns now that I know who you are," she giggled.

Adrien gasped as he responded, "It's my best quality!" He laughed as Marinette jaw dropped open.

"And here I thought it was your good looks and kind personality," she deadpanned. Then she started to giggle as Adrien's jaw dropped.

His eyes narrowed as he scooted closer in his seat, "So you finally admit that I'm good looking, huh," he teased with grin.

"Don't let it go to your head, Chaton," Marinette said with a smirk. "You're a model so you know that you're good looking. You don't need me pointing it out to you and inflating that big ego of yours even more."

"Me-ouch, bugaboo," Adrien said with a pout.

Marinette giggled, "Anyway," she said with a wave of her hand, "your most endearing quality is your kindness." After seeing they were nearing their destination she stood and said, "Tikki, Spots On!"

Adrien watched in amazement as his princess turned into his Lady further confirming what he already knew. "Wow," he said as the transformation finished.

Marinette blushed as she looked at the awe on Adrien's face. "Come on Kitty, you need to get your work clothes on."

Adrien shook himself out of his stupor and stood while saying, "Plagg, Claws Out!"

Now it was Marinette's turn to watch in awe as her crush turned into one of her best friends and trusted partner. "You know, I think knowing each other's identities will be more helpful then I thought it was."

Adrien smiled and wiggled his eyebrows as his tail twitched behind him. "You thinking you should have listened to your paw-some partner earlier, purrincess?"

Shaking her head with a sigh, Marinette moved to the exit of the jet. "Just open the door and fly low," She instructed as she readied her yoyo. Cat Noir came to stand next to her and readied himself with his staff in hand.

"Do you guys want some help?" Kitty asked.

"Nah, we got this. Right, bugaboo," Cat Noir purred while looking at Ladybug who nodded her agreement.

"We've got your frequency if we need backup. You guys have a bigger fish to fry," Ladybug said as the door opened. "Bug out guys!" She grinned at the group as she threw her yoyo on to the closest pole.

Once the duo reached the Champ de Mars they saw who the Akuma was. The woman had grown to a height of 10 feet and was dressed in a wedding dress. She kept stomping around yelling at people for some small slight. She would then point her clipboard at the offending person and zap them causing them to become a mindless drone doing as she wished.

"I think it is safe to say this a major case of Bridezilla-itiz," Cat said as they observed the scene.

Ladybug nodded. "Seeing as how she is following her anger I am thinking this is going to be a little easier. Let's get this over with so we can help get Steamroller. Here's the plan." She filled Cat Noir in on what her plan was. Once all the details were ironed out the duo put it into action.

Back on the X-Jet the Professor was giving them the setup of the museum where a part of the gem had been put on display. "It was found in India in an ancient burial ground. They aren't sure why it was there but the story they are going with is that it was supposed to be interred with a priest but that a grave robber took it and then ended up trapped in the tomb when the ceiling collapsed. Today is the first day of the exhibition so hopefully it will be too busy for Julien to attempt an outright grab for the gem."

Logan took over from there. "It should be a straight up grab job. All of you will provide the distraction while Gumbo does what he does best. The Professor will make sure no one notices it is gone until we are out. Easy enough, right?" At all the nods Logan turned to the professor. "You didn't by any chance happen to pack regular clothes for everyone did you?"

"Jean can take care of that. We just need to get that piece of the gem before Steamroller shows up."

Everyone exited the jet and started making their way towards the museum. They were half way there when people started running and screaming out the doors of the museum. "So much for a quick in and out," Kitty muttered as everyone started running towards the building.

"Only one thing would cause this panic," Storm said as the winds started to pick up, "and that would be Steamroller. But the question is, how did he find out about the gem at the same time as us?"

"Kurt, teleport Rogue and me into the museum," Scott ordered. With a nod, the blue elf grabbed his teammates and teleported to the case where the gem would be held. Looking around they confirmed the presence of Steamroller.

"Julien," Scott yelled at the green behemoth in front of them, "you've got to stop and give us the jewel. You don't know what kind of power you are dealing with here."

"Ah," Julien answered in an echo-y kind of voice, "but I do. I am going to finally be the one pushing people around. No longer will I be the scrawny kid that others can push around. I am now an unstoppable force. I just need to the last piece of the gem so that my transformation can be complete. And with this second piece of the gem my power has grown and become more stable." He grinned evilly at the three heroes. "Let me show you why you should stay out of my way!"

Steamroller came running at the three who dodged out of the way. He ran through the crushed case that once held the gem and on through many other displays and one wall. Once he had run some ways he turned and held his hands up. Cyclops, Nightcrawler, and Rogue watched in confusion. It looked like he was preparing to direct an orchestra. As they watched the rubble around them started to shake and form into something else.

Coming out of his stupor Scott started blasting at the things that were forming out of the destruction around them. Rogue was using all her gymnastics and martial arts training to stay out of their reach after finding that it hurt to try to punch them. Nightcrawler was grabbing the figures and teleporting them up to the ceiling where they fell to the ground only to be reformed. At this time the rest of the team had joined in the fight.

"Cyke," Rogue called out. "How the hell are we going to get to him with these things attacking us?"

"Shadowcat," Scott answered, "Get Rogue over to Steamroller so she can drain his power."

Kitty nodded. Grabbing Rogue by the hand the two started running through the walking piles of rubble. "Ah hope this works. He's stronger now and ah don't know if ah can drain enough power for us to get him confined."

Kitty gave her friend a grim smile. "We'll figure something out but right now you seem to be our best bet. Hopefully Amanda will have some luck with her magic once you drain him."

Rogue stripped her gloves off her hands and started towards Steamroller. He was ready for her though. Before she could get a grip on him he turned around and grabbed her forearms. "Do you really think I haven't figured out what your default plan is?" At Rogue's grimace of pain, the boy brought his face a little closer to her. "It's too bad you're such a 'hero', you're a real looker." Steamroller practically gagged on the word hero. "But I don't have time to deal with any distractions right now." With that he threw Rogue against the wall, knocking the auburn and white-haired mutant out.

Seeing what had happened Remy threw a handful of cards right into the behemoth's eyes. "Don' you dare touch dat femme again," Remy growled as he got in between the walking wall and the unconscious Rogue.

Steamroller laughed. "Awww, do you have a soft spot for the skunk head? Ain't that just sweet," he growled as he started running towards Gambit. While Gambit had attacked and distracted the Steamroller, Kurt had teleported in and grabbed Rogue to move her out of harm's way. As Steamroller built up speed Remy charged another handful of cards and threw them with precision at the enemy's eyes. Temporarily blinded the giant didn't see Gambit extend his staff and place it right in his path. The behemoth tripped over the adamantium staff and straight into another wall.

Disoriented, Steamroller tried to get to his feet only to find himself trapped inside a magical cage. Bellowing in rage he started slamming into the walls of his prison. "This won't be able to hold me!" Amanda winched every time his fists slammed into the sides of the cage.

"Jean," Amanda groaned. "You need to get him knocked unconscious before his battering causes me to drop the spell."

"I'm trying," Jean said between gritted teeth.

"I'm here to help Jean," the professor spoke to the fiery haired mutant. "Between the two of us we might be able to get him knocked out."

The two telepaths worked on getting through the barriers surrounding his mind. Everybody was watching the witch and telepath and didn't notice right away that he had changed his tactic of banging against the shield to pounding on the ground.

Logan had noticed first. "Magik, move the cage so that it covers the floor before he gets to the sewers!"

Right as she started the incantation to move the spell to completely encase the overpowered teen, he managed to break through the floor. Jean gasped as he dropped into the sewer and started strolling towards the nearest exit.

"Everyone after him," Cyclops yelled. The X-Men started dropping in the sewer to pursue when the Professor stopped them.

 _We have no way of containing him when we catch up to him now that he has another piece of the gem,_ the professor informed everyone telepathically. _Everybody make your way back to the jet and we'll plan our next steps._

"Why did you let him go, Professor," Scott questioned as he paced back and forth in the make shift war room.

"I told you," the Professor patiently explained, "we have no way of holding him. His mental shields have become nearly impenetrable and he knows about Rogue's powers so he'll be ready for that. Right now, I think that our best bet is to concentrate on finding the last part of the gem and working with Dr. Strange for the containment spell. It's been a long weekend," the professor said, "you should catch up on your homework and rest before school tomorrow." With that dismissal the Professor wheeled himself out of the office.

Taking his advise the X-Men headed to their rooms. Rogue and Kitty sat in Kitty's room talking about what had happened at the museum. Their conversation eventually turned to school work and then to the boys in their lives.

"What do you think of Piotr," Kitty finally asked Rogue.

"He seems like a really sweet guy," Rogue smiled smugly at her friend. "Why? Are you thinking about doing something?"

Kitty giggled. "Maybe. I'm, like, trying to figure out how to, like, get the prof to help Piotr get away from Magneto." Kitty looked at her hands clasped in her lap before adding softly, "I just wish he trusted me enough to tell me what Magneto had on him that makes him stay."

Rogue reached out and placed a gloved hand on Kitty's shoulder. "Ah'm sure he'll eventually tell ya. He just needs to know that he can trust you. Knowing how Magneto is, it's probably hard for him to trust anyone."

Kitty looked up with tears in her eyes. "Thanks, Rogue. I'm, like, glad we're friends."

Rogue smiled and the girls shared a brief hug before Kitty smiled wickedly. "And how are things with Monsieur LeBeau."

Rogue frowned at her friend. "There is nothing between the two of us. He drives me nuts and ah'm just a challenge for the womanizer." Rogue looked down at the comforter as she picked at a loose thread.

Kitty frowned, "I don't believe you. You like him, don't you?"

Rogue looked at Kitty with a sheen of tears in her eyes. "Yeah, but it's not like ah can do anything about it. If he found out ah really do like him it'll just encourage him and once he finds a way to make me a notch in his belt he'll drop me like a hot potato."

Kitty smiled sadly at her friend. "I think he likes you more then you give him credit for. Piotr told me that Remy never goes to this much trouble for a girl. And you were unconscious so you missed the way he jumped between you and Steamroller to keep you safe. Maybe you should give him a chance?"

Rogue shrugged. She opened her mouth to say something when the doorbell rang. "Ah'm gonna go answer that." With that, Rogue made a hasty retreat out of Kitty's room.

Once they had defeated Bridezilla, Adrien and Marinette made their way to the X-Men's house to get their packs from the camping equipment. They didn't have to wait long before the front door was pulled open. "Hey guys," Rogue greeted, "you don't have to ring the bell anymore. Ya can just come on in." She gave them a small smile before moving aside so the two could enter.

"I take it things didn't go well with Steamroller?" Marinette looked around at the students who were working on homework in the common room.

"No, he got away," Kurt grumped. "Did you see the museum?"

Adrien and Marinette nodded. "We swung by there before coming here. There were cops all over the place and it looked like a wrecking ball had gone through the inside."

Kurt and Amanda nodded sadly. "It's too bad you're miraculous cure couldn't fix it. The professor is going to have to make a big donation to help with repairs."

"The professor and I did get some information before he managed to escape," Jean informed everyone as she walked into the room. "He wants me to gather everyone in here so we can go over his plan."

Nodding everyone took a seat while they waited for the others to join them. Once everyone was seated the professor wheeled in. "While Steamroller was trapped inside Amanda's magic, Jean and I were able to get a tiny sliver of information from Steamroller's mind. It would appear that it was not Julien who's mind we entered, but Cyttorak himself. With the gem being split he isn't at full power and therefore had a small crack we were lucky to find. Once the third piece of the gem has been found it will allow him to be free of his prison and take over Julien's body, trapping Julien's spirit in the Crimson Cosmos where Cyttorak himself is currently located. I have invited Dr. Strange to come for a visit tomorrow. I want to know what he thinks our best course of action is. I do believe that magic is going to be our best defense." With that the professor once again made his exit leaving the group to talk amongst themselves about what had just been revealed.

While they were talking they did not notice as Gambit and Colossus left the room. The two had been telepathically summoned to the professor's office. "You called professor," Gambit said as he leaned one hip against the door frame. Colossus stood behind him like a silent shadow.

"I have a job for you. I think Piotr would be good back up for you. Please have a seat and I'll give you the details." The professor motioned to the chairs in the room. As the entered the room and closed the door the professor started filling them in on the plan he had decided to keep quiet from the rest of the team. As soon as he finished the two headed up to their rooms to start packing.

Rogue, Kitty, and Marinette were coming up the stairs to work on some homework when Remy walked out of his room. "Hey you," Rogue greeted. "We were wondering where you and Pete got to."

Remy smirked. "Don't worry chere, we just came up here to get away from the commotion in the common room."

Rogue frowned, _That's odd,_ She thought, _Remy usually enjoys all the chaos and attention from big groups of people._ Giving a little shrugged she passed it off as him just needing a change a little space, after all, everyone needed a break from time to time.

"And jus' where are you lovely femmes headed," Remy questioned.

"We've got some history homework to do. Marinette volunteered to help us out," Kitty informed the red-eyed Cajun. "I don't think it's anything you would find interesting."

Remy smirked at the brunette, "Minou, you have no idea what kind of information is floating around in dis head of mine."

Shaking their heads the girls entered Kitty's room and shut the door in his face. Laughing to himself Remy walked down the hall to Piotr's room to finish planning their little trip the professor was sending them on.

 **XXX**

 **Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. We moved to a new state and I started a new job so life has been interesting. And of course there is the problem of writers block. I think I have figured out where this story is going and how I want to get there. As long as the characters don't decide to change things up on me again. :-p**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Monday morning came way too early for all the teens that went "camping" over the weekend. After a day of finishing up their homework and then of course the training session Logan insisted upon; everyone was too tired to notice that two members of the group were missing from breakfast. As they got to the school building they greeted Adrien, Marinette, Nino and Alya.

"How did the extra credit for Phys Ed go?" Nino asked the group.

"It went fairly well," Scott answered with a wiry smile as the rest of the group yawned. "It just seems to have zapped all of our energy."

Alya and Nino laughed as Kitty and Amanda retold some of the activities that occurred over the weekend. They had all planned out what they could and couldn't tell everyone about so they wouldn't give away the secret identities of Ladybug and Cat Noir. Everyone was laughing and talking about the cave expedition that ended up with a collapsed ceiling as they entered the classroom. Once inside they were greeted by a very disturbing sight. Julien had taken his seat in class.

"What is he doing here," Rogue whispered to the group.

"I have no idea," Kitty answered as she checked to see if anyone looked like they were in danger. When they observed that most of the people in the classroom seemed to be going about their normal business they decided not to push the matter. The last thing they needed was for Julien to freak out and start destroying the school.

As the day progressed, Julien didn't show any signs of having met the X-Men before, let alone almost take them all out. After school Adrien walked out of the classroom with Marinette. He moved closer and started to put his arm around her. This caused her to jump and give a little squeak in surprise. He smiled and silently promised himself to surprise her more since he liked the small blush the spread over Marinette's cheeks as she realized what he had been trying to do. Leaning still a little closer to whisper in her ear he said, "Master Fu should have some idea on how we can better help defeat this guy."

Marinette nodded in agreement as the blush deepened. "You're right, minou. Why don't we meet up in 45 minutes transformed and we can swing by his place before training at Xavier's mansion?"

"Sounds like a plan, purrriness," Adrien grinned at her. Marinette blushed some more while Adrien just winked and waved as he headed towards his limo.

Marinette waved back before being attacked by Alya. "Girl, I don't know what happened this weekend but I'm not sure I can take it. When did you and Adrien become so close?" Alya was practically screeching at a level only dogs could hear when she finished.

"Dude, I didn't know Adrien could flirt like that," Nino said with a bit of awe as he watched the limo drive off.

Marinette giggled at her two friends. "It's nothing major guys. We just got to spend a lot of time together this weekend and found out we have more in common then we thought. When you're in the wilderness avoiding traps…"

Marinette knew instantly that she had said the wrong thing when Alya turned and narrowed her eyes as she studied her best friend. "Avoiding traps? I thought you said this weekend was extra credit for PE?"

Taking a step back Marinette help her hands up in front of her. "You know how I feel about PE. Every activity we do feels like a trap to me. I mean, I am the biggest klutz in the whole world. Let's just say that being klutzy at the right moment helped me get over my fear of talking to Adrien. Not to mention the cave-in we were almost smushed by."

Alya didn't really buy that story but wasn't sure how to push the subject. "Right, I guess that makes sense." Alya turned around and looked at Nino who just shrugged.

"You know I hate PE as much as Marinette. I can see how the outdoor activities could be construed as traps." Marinette smiled gratefully at her best friend's crush.

"See, Alya," she said sweetly, "no need to get your investigative senses a twitching." Alya laughed.

"Alright, alright," she said as she held her hands up in surrender. "You win this round but I still think there is more to this story and I am going to keep digging until I get it. There is no way a simple weekend in the woods would have made you that confident around Adrien." With a smirk at her bestie, Alya waved and headed home to babysit for her younger siblings. Nino waved and took off after her offering to walk her home.

Marinette smiled as she watched the two walk away. _They make such a cute couple,_ the pig-tailed teen thought as she turned towards her own house. _Maybe one day soon they will finally hook up._ As soon as she was safely in her room Tikki flew out of her purse.

"It sounded like Adrien was flirting with you Marinette," the red Kwami said as Marinette took out a change of clothes. She figured that it was more comfortable after the training sessions if she had on shorts and a tank top to cool down in while they had dinner.

"Pfft," Marinette said as Tikki landed on her shoulder. "He was just being the personification of Cat Noir. I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it."

Tikki hummed knowingly while Marinette shooed her off her shoulder so she could change and get ready to meet said Cat.

"You know, Marinette," Tikki said with a small grin, "Cat always has had a crush on Ladybug, so maybe that feeling has transferred to you now that he knows who you are under the mask."

Marinette shook her head. "That can't be it. I'm nothing like Ladybug when I'm not transformed. I can barely walk down the stairs without tripping. He's just being nice to try to keep from hurting my feelings." Tikki groaned in frustration. She knew her holder could be stubborn but this was really pushing her limits. However, she decided to let the subject drop for now as Marinette was likely not ready to face the fact that her crush could possibly like her in return. Of course, she wasn't really sure how Marinette felt about Adrien now that she knew he was Cat Noir.

"So, now that you've had some time to process it," Tikki started, "how are you doing with finding out Adrien is Cat Noir?"

Marinette turned to look at her Kwami before dropping down on her bed with a huff. "I'm still not sure what I think, Tikki. Adrien has always been this sweet, kind, funny, caring guy. I never would have pegged him for having the same qualities as Cat Noir. But at the same time that is also a double standard since there are many qualities that I have as Ladybug but not as Marinette." The teenage hero ran her hands through her hair in agitation. "I mean, the puns aren't completely horrible and the flirting was actually kinda fun but I'm having some issues reconciling the two boys in my head into one person."

"Although, now that I really think about it Adrien does act a lot more like Cat now that I am more comfortable around him. Maybe I just didn't know the real Adrien. Maybe I just had him idolized in my head as this perfect guy. I mean, nobody is perfect, right? Just look at me." She gestured grandly to herself causing her Kwami to giggle.

"Marinette, you are perfect for yourself. Nobody really knows what is classified as normal so who knows what perfect is? Everybody wants something different in their significant other. That doesn't mean the person is perfect, it just means that they are perfect for their partner. Think about it, but after training. We gotta get going or we're not going to have time to talk to Master Fu beforehand." Nodding Marinette transformed and jumped out her window.

Meanwhile, across town Adrien had received a face time call from Alya and Nino. Alya wasn't convinced by Marinette's story and decided to try to get the truth from Adrien. So far he was doing a pretty good job of matching Marinette's story. _Hopefully I can find a way out of this conversation soon. I need to meet up with Marinette,_ Adrien thought. _What excuse could I use to get out of this conversation?_ While he was trying to find a way out of the conversation his bedroom door opened to reveal Nathalie.

"Adrien, your dad wants to have a quick word." Nodding Adrien looked at the phone with a grimace.

"Sorry guys, apparently my father wants to talk to me about something." Adrien smiled at this friends as they sent sympathetic looks his way.

"Good luck, dude," Nino said as they hung up the phone.

Plagg came out from behind the pillow he had used to hide himself. "What does your father want now? Did you not get a perfect on a school assignment or something?"

Adrien smiled wryly at his Kwami. "I guess we're going to find out." With a big sigh he stood and walked to his door with Plagg hiding in his shirt pocket.

He stopped at his dad's office door and knocked. When told to enter he opened the door and walked two steps into the room before stopping. "You wanted to see me Father," Adrien queried as he looked around the room.

"Yes, I wanted to check in with you on how your weekend excursion went."

Adrien quirked an eyebrow at his Father who was still sitting behind his desk and looking at the paperwork in front of him. "It went well Father. I got to spend some time with the new kids at school and help them get better aquatinted with the Parisian way of life. I also got a chance to talk with Betsy Braddock."

At the mention of Betsy's name Gabriel looked at his son for the first time. "What was Elizabeth doing in the city. She wasn't here for a job with another clothing line was she?"

Adrien looked surprised that his father cared about what the model was doing in Paris. "No, she was just showing her new boyfriend the sights. Warren Worthington seems like a nice guy. With his good looks you might be able to convince him to model for you as well."

Gabriel hummed as looked once more at his desk. "If she is town we should have her over for dinner. Have Chloe clear her schedule so she is available to play the part of your date tomorrow night when Elizabeth and her boyfriend arrive."

Adrien drew back a little at the mention of Chloe. "Actually, I think Marinette would be a better choice." Adrien held his breath as his father once more looked up with a frown on his face.

He steepled his hands under his chin as he studied his son. "And why would Marinette be a better choice? Chloe has the pedigree that would impress the likes of Warren Worthington the third. A baker's daughter is hardly the type of person I would want to introduce him to."

Adrien was relieved his father hadn't outright denied his request. "Warren already knows Marinette. He's friends with a couple of the new students and Marinette was the one selected to show the new female students around so they have already met. They seemed to get along quite well. And Marinette is a talented designer so she could help steer the fashion conversation since she is a huge fan of yours."

Gabriel looked at his son curiously now. "Am I getting the impression that you _like_ this Marinette?"

Adrien blushed as he looked down at this feet. "Maybe a little. But I do know that having someone they have already met once would make it a little more comfortable. Especially if you are looking to broach the subject of Betsy modeling exclusively for Agreste fashions."

"I will think about your request and will let you know by nine which way I will go." He turned back to his desk as Adrien queitly, but quickly escaped his father's office.

"That was gutsy," Plagg said as he looked up at Adrien from his pocket. "I didn't think you had it in you kid."

Adrien smiled down at Plagg. "Marinette said we needed to get to know each other. This would be a good way to do so."

"Well, you're going to be late for meeting up with her now if you don't hurry your skinny tail up."

Adrien looked at the time as he hurried into his room and shut the door. "Plagg, Claws Out!"

Once transformed he quickly snuck out of his window and headed to Master Fu's shop. He caught up with Ladybug on the roof of Master Fu's shop. "Are you ready for this?" He asked as they looked over the edge of the building to make sure there was no one around.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Once they were sure the coast was clear they dropped down behind some bushes and dropped their transformations. As they walked in Tikki and Plagg came out of hiding and went straight to where Wayzz was waiting for them.

"It is good to see you two again," Master Fu greeted as they entered into his meditation room.

"It's good too see you as well, Master Fu," the teens greeted in unison. They looked at each other and chuckled at what had just happened.

"I feel like we're in a Star Wars movie and Master Fu is Yoda," Adrien said with a laugh. He was quickly joined by the Kwamis. Their laughter was contagious and it wasn't long before Marinette and Master Fu joined in.

"I am not sure whether or be offended or flattered that you think of me as a Master Yoda," Master Fu said while rubbing his chin in thought and gaining more laughter for around him.

"Considering he is one of your favorite characters from the movie you know very well that you are flattered," Wayzz said with a big grin at his holder causing everyone to start laughing again.

Once the laughter died down Master Fu looked at the two teens. "I gather this is not a social call. What can I help you with?"

Marinette glanced quickly at Adrien before replying. "I suppose you've heard about the X-Men coming to town?" At Master Fu's nod Marinette continued, "Well, they asked us to help with their current situation but we feel as though there is more we can do and we were hoping you could help us figure out what that something is."

Master Fu nodded as he observed the two teens. While it was apparent they had just recently found out each other's identities they were taking it better then he figured they would. Putting his mind to the task at hand he walked to the cabinet where he kept the book Marinette had brought to him last year.

"I do have some ideas. You haven't tapped into your full powers yet. Maybe something in here can help you tap into more of your potential powers."

The three gathered around the book and studied it for the next 30 minutes. Adrien's reminder went off letting them know it was time to head over to Xavier's for training. "We have to go. We have training sessions at the X-Men's every morning and evening." Adrien explained as he got up to find Plagg.

"Dr. Strange might still be there as well," Marinette said remembering that Xavier had mentioned yesterday as she walked over to where Tikki was sitting next to the window.

Master Fu looked up quickly, "Strange is in Paris?"

Marinette and Adrien shared a surprised glance as they nodded. "You know Dr. Strange," Adrien asked as he continued to hunt for his wayward Kwami. "Where did Plagg get to now?" He grumbled as he stooped down to look under the cabinet.

"We've met a couple of times," Master Fu commented as he pulled a piece of Camembert out of the fridge causing the missing Kwami to appear. "I think I'll go with you. Maybe after talking with Strange I will have a better idea on what you are facing and how to find more information on how the Miraculous can be helpful." Receiving shrugs from the teens he walked them through his house to the back where he kept his car.

Once they reached the mansion they were greeted at the door by the Professor. "Good evening Professor Xavier," Adrien said with a polite smile. "I hope you don't mind but Master Fu insisted on coming with us to talk with Dr. Strange."

The professor smiled at the teenager and nodded. Motioning them to follow him into the house. "Dr. Strange is currently using my office to have a session with Amanda. If you would be so kind as to wait here I will let him know he has a visitor."

Master Fu made a small bow to the wheelchair bound mutant. "I appreciate the hospitality, Professor Xavier." The professor smiled towards their guest before turning to Marinette and Adrien.

"The rest of the team is in the library taking advantage of the delay in training to finish up some homework. You can go and wait with them."

The teens nodded and turned to walk down the hallway towards the library. They were halfway down the hall when Adrien put his hand on Marinette's shoulder to stop her. She turned to look at him with a questioning gaze. "Something wrong?"

Taking a deep breath and fidgeting slightly Adrien worked up the courage to ask, "Are you free tomorrow evening?"

Marinette's eyes widened in surprise. "Except for training here I'm free. Why?"

Rubbing the back of his neck Adrien blushed a little before explaining. "My father found out Betsy was in town and wants to invite her over for dinner. I was hoping you'd come too." He waited anxiously while Marinette processed that information.

"You," she said as she pointed at him, "want me," this time she pointed at herself. "To come to dinner at your house?"

Adrien nodded with a confused frown. "That's the gist of it."

Marinette nodded with a befuddled look on her face. "I can make that work. What am I supposed to wear?"

Adrien smiled in relief. "If you want I can stop by your place on the way home and help you pick something out." He didn't think that Marinette's eyes could get any bigger but somehow they did. He wasn't sure why this seemed so stressful for her.

"That would be great," she said while staring at him with those big eyes. With a blink she turned around and headed towards the library where she found Kitty and Rogue. "Can I talk to you guys in private?"

The two girls frown in confusion but nodded and lead the blue haired teen up to Kitty's room. "What's the issue," Kitty queried as she flopped down on her bed.

"I think I'm going to faint," Marinette said as flopped face first onto the bed next to Kitty.

The two mutants shared a confused look and shrugs before asking again. "What's going on?"

Marinette looked up from where she had her face buried in a pillow. "Adrien asked me to go to dinner at his place tomorrow and then offered to help me pick out my outfit tonight for tomorrow."

"But, ah thought you liked Adrien, so why is this an issue?" Rogue and Kitty were not following Marinette's logic at all.

Marinette let out a small squeal of frustration as Tikki flew out of her purse. "I think what Marinette is trying to say is that she is confused on whether she still likes Adrien or not now that she knows he is Chat Noir." The Kwami turned to look at her holder with a small frown. "At least, that's the feeling I'm getting."

"Oh," both the other girls said.

Kitty put a comforting hand on Marinette's shoulder. "We'll try to help you figure this out."

Rogue grinned at the girl mischievously. "Ah could absorb some of your memories and sort it out for you." At the terrified expression on Marinette's face Rogue started laughing. "Ah was kidding. Ah don't do that unless absolutely necessary. Ah figured it would help you put some things in perspective."

Marinette nodded. "Alright, let's talk this out. Adrien is this sweet, kind, caring, handsome boy in my class. Cat Noir is a pun spewing, flirty kitty who drove me nuts." Her two friends nodded at her. "I just can't seem to make the two fit together in my head. I mean, at one point I even said I would have possibly gone for Cat if Adrien wasn't in the picture but Adrien is in the picture and it was too disturbing to think of a world without Adrien in it. But I could never form a full sentence in front of Adrien while I was all smooth and calm with Cat. Adrien never really paid much attention to me until he found out I was Ladybug. So does he really like Marinette?"

Rogue nodded. "Ah understand. What you haven't thought about is how Adrien was acting at the club. He came to your defense when that jerk was bothering you. He couldn't keep his eyes off of you that night. I think he was feeling conflicted about his feelings for you and Ladybug. Maybe he's relieved and excited that the two girls he liked are the same person."

Marinette looked at her. The two girls could almost see the wheels turning as she processed that information. "Do you really think so?"

With a slight roll of their eyes the two mutants and the Kwami nodded their heads. Marinette thought a little harder before smiling. "Maybe you're right?"

Kitty sighed as she wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "The only way you are going to know for sure is if you talk it through with him. Go to dinner with him tomorrow. See what happens with you two. Nothing has to be decided right then and there."

Marinette nodded as a determined look crossed her face. "You're right. I'm never going to figure this out if I don't spend time with him. Thanks guys."

"No problem. That's what friends are for," Kitty assured the girl as the professor summoned everyone downstairs to begin training.

When everyone was downstairs they were told not to get changed into their uniforms because they were working on gymnastics and hand-to-hand combat that night. Looking around Rogue and Kitty noted there were two people missing. "Where is Remy and Piotr," Rogue questioned Logan as they walked out to the exercise area he had set up.

Grunting, Logan said, "Don't know. Probably getting into trouble."

Rogue was about to push the issue some more when Logan turned to look at her. "They are big boys who can take care of themselves. I know the professor talked to them last night so they might be off doing something for him. Now, we are going to get some training done before it gets too dark."

Rogue looked a little hurt at Logan's curt attitude but brushed it off. Everyone was a little on edge since they still had no idea where the last piece the gem was. Logan paired everyone up for the night. Scott was working with Adrien, Kurt was working with Jean, Kitty with Amanda, and Rogue with Marinette.

Storm was assigned to work with them on the gymnastics portion and Logan was working with them on hand to hand combat. Kurt, Jean, Kitty and Amanda were assigned to work on the hand-to-hand combat part first while the other groups worked with Storm on gymnastics.

As the groups got to work Rogue was a little surprised at how agile Marinette was even without being transformed. "Ya trying ta make me look bad, girlie," Rogue teased as Marinette finished the tumbling routine.

Marinette laughed, "More like trying not to kill myself. You know how clumsy I can be." The two laughed as Rogue started in on the tumbling routine.

After tumbling was the balance beam. This time Rogue went first and showed how to get it done. "That was a great routine," Marinette complimented after Rogue stuck the landing. "You should have been a gymnast!"

"Thanks," Rogue grinned. "Ah've always loved gymnastics. But now it's your turn."

Taking a deep breath Marinette prepared herself before performing a flip onto the beam and stuck a clean landing. With a breath of relief she started in on the routine. She was so focused on not falling that she wasn't aware of being watched. Rogue, Storm, Scott, and Adrien were watching in awe as she completed the routine and got ready to dismount. Taking a deep breathe she started her two flips down the beam. When she reached the end she launched herself into a double tuck and landed. She turned with a grin on her face feeling triumphant. Her grin wobbled a little when she saw that she had an entranced audience. Blushing she did a small curtsy when the others applauded.

"Wow," Adrien said causing Scott to chuckle.

"I feel the same way when I get to watch Jean work," Scott said as he patted Adrien on the shoulder. "Let's get back to work before Logan realizes we're 'slacking'." Adrien laughed and cleared the way for Scott to try out the routine for the mat.

The boys were no where near as good as the girls had been but they managed to get through it without too many bruises. The balance beam was another thing all together.

"Ugh," Adrien muttered as he finally got to dismount. "Guys were not meant to work on that thing."

This caused Scott to chuckle as he rubbed his shoulder from falling off the beam. "You aren't kidding."

They were called to switch from gymnastics over to hand-to-hand. Marinette was at a disadvantage on this one because she had never had any formal training. Adrien had taken a couple of years of Karate but he was still not at the level of the X-Men who had been training with Logan for the last 2 years.

Once the workout was done they entered the kitchen to be fed. Afterwards Marinette and Adrien transformed to head home since Master Fu had left with Dr. Strange at the beginning of training.

They reached Marinette's house and stopped behind the dumpster in the alley that runs behind the bakery to detransform. "My dad is going to be looking for me in about 15 minutes so we'll have to be quick," Adrien informed Marinette as they entered the door to the Dupain-Cheng's home. Marinette nodded.

Glancing shyly at the boy next to her Marinette questioned, "Why did you ask for me to come to dinner?"

Adrien smiled at her as a small blush spread across his cheeks. "You said you wanted to get to know each other better. I feel the same way and thought this would be a good starting point."

Marinette blushed happily. "I think it will be too. Now let's just hope I have something decent to wear."

Adrien chuckled lightly. "I've seen your designs, Marinette. I'm sure you have more then enough outfits that will work for tomorrow."

They stopped in the kitchen to let Marinette's parents know they were there before heading up to Marinette's room. "How dressy are we talking?"

Adrien shrugged. "A cocktail dress should work. I know Father will want me to wear a suit."

Hurumph-ing Marinette started pulling out her dresses and Adrien started shifting through them. Marinette pulled out a simple midnight blue dress with lace trim around the bust and the bottom of the skirt. It had a sweetheart neckline and a skirt that flared at the hips. It was long enough to be modest but not too formal. "This one," Adrien said with confidence.

Marinette looked at it. "Alright, I guess I'll start combing through jewelry and make-up to go with it."

Adrien smiled lightly. "Don't worry too much about the make up, M'Lady. You look perfect without any."

Marinette blushed and tried to cover up a girly giggle. "You're a sweetheart, silly kitty. Now you better be getting home before your dad realizes you're gone." With a slight groan from Adrien, they headed out to alleyway so he could transform.

"I'll call you a little later once I have the timing," he vowed as he transformed and prepared to bound away. Hesitating for a just a second he turned and placed a kiss on Marinette's cheek. Without waiting for a response Cat quickly used his Bo Staff to head home leaving a confused but excited Marinette watching after him.

 **Xxx**

 **Sorry it took so long to get the chapter out. Work has been super crazy busy so I'm usually too tired to think about making a chapter that will actually make sense when people read it. LOL. Let me know what you think. And remember to leave helpful suggestions if there is something I need to work on.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The next day at school was the same as usual. Julien was once again in class so throughout the day there was always one member of the group watching him. They had a feeling he knew what they were doing. There were many points in the day where he would turn around and smirk at whoever he caught looking at him. There were a couple of times when Kurt, Adrien, Nino or Scott would catch him staring at the girls with a malicious gleam in his eyes.

"I wish I could get a glimpse into his mind," Jean grumbled at lunch. "I don't like the looks he's been sending our group today."

Marinette nodded in agreement while Adrien frowned. "I don't like the way he was looking at you girls. Particularly Mari and Amanda."

Marinette blushed. "I'm not sure what he knows but I think he knows something that we don't." The group nodded.

Rogue spoke up, "Do y'all think he's found the last piece of the stone?"

"Maybe," Kitty muttered.

Rogue looked at Kitty who was being unusually quiet today. "Hey, Kit, are ya going alright," Rogue questioned quietly.

Kitty shook her head. "I'm, like, really worried about Piotr and Remy."

Rogue smiled, "Mostly Piotr for you though, huh?"

Kitty nodded sadly. Rogue reached out and covered her friends hand with her gloved one. "Ah'm worried too. But the Professor was the one who sent them away. There had to be a good reason."

Taking a deep breath Kitty shakily let is out again. "I, like, know that. But, that doesn't, like, make it any easier." The girls shared a sad smiled. They both knew they were in trouble since it appears they were both falling hard for the men who were supposed to be their enemies.

"What are you two talking about," Alya questioned as she scooted closer.

"Just sharing our worries for the two missing guys," Rogue answered.

Alya scrunched up her face in contrition. "Sorry about that. It must be hard for you two to not know where your boyfriends are."

Kitty and Rogue smiled at the brunette. "They're, like, not our boyfriends," Kitty informed the blogger. "In fact, they aren't even supposed to be our allies. They, like, fight for our biggest enemy."

Alya raised her eyebrows at that one. "So why are they here?"

"The prof asked Magneto to send them. He thought they're particular skills would be helpful in defeating Steamroller," Rogue answered. "Magneto apparently thought this guy was a threat to his plans and decided to let us borrow his guys for a bit." The sarcasm in the last part was hard for anyone to miss.

Alya looked over at Marinette who was blushing furiously at something Adrien had said. "I know there is more to the weekend then you guys have said. Marinette would not be this close to Adrien if something drastic hadn't happened while you guys were away."

Rogue and Kitty looked at each other before shrugging. "Nothing out of the ordinary happened except for the cave in." Kitty scratched her head like she was trying to figure out what could have happened. "Like, maybe life and death situations like that could, like, make it easier to put certain things in perspective," she finished with a shrug.

Alya frowned and figured she wasn't going to get anything out of these two. Rogue decided it was time to change the subject thought. With a mischievous gleam in her emerald eyes Rogue asked, "So, how are things going with monsieur DJ over there."

Alya blushed. "There's nothing going on. He doesn't even seem to know I exist." She let out a grumbly sigh with the last part.

Rogue laughed her first real laugh of the day. "Girly, you had to be blind not to see the glares he was shooting at Kurt when you two were dancing at the club. He was so jealous."

Alya looked surprised at this comment. Taking a moment to glance at Nino only to see him looking at her. She once again blushed as she looked back at the two mutants who were both wearing "the cat who caught the canary" grins. Alya smirked at the two. "Well, if he feels that way maybe I'll just have to do something about it." This caused the three girls to break out in giggles.

Marinette, Jean, and Amanda joined the group right then with questioning looks on their faces. "What'd we miss," Amanda asked as she sat next to Alya.

"Alya finally figured out that Nino is crushing on her and she's going to do something about it," Rogue laughed. "Ah almost feel sorry for the poor boy," as she spoke she sent a teasing grin at the bespectacled blogger causing her to laugh as well.

"You have no idea," Alya said once she could speak again.

"Guys," Marinette questioned. "I'm going to need help getting ready for tonight, I am so super stressed."

Alya sent a questioning look at her best friend. "What's happening tonight?"

"Oh my gosh," Marinette exclaimed. "I completely forgot to tell you. Adrien invited me over to his house for supper tonight…"

Marinette was cut off as Alya grabbed her by the shoulders and started shaking the blue-nette. "Why am I just hearing about this now," the blogger asked as she continued to shake her friend. "When did this happen? What the hell happened on your weekend? Now I know for sure you guys are hiding something from me."

Marinette sent a sheepish smile to her best friend. "It happened last night. He just called and asked me. Apparently his father is having a fashion model and her boyfriend over for dinner to discuss signing exclusively for the Agreste brand and he thought I would be the best choice to help make fashion small talk."

Alya stopped shaking Mari, "So, it's basically a business meeting? No romance?"

Marinette grimaced, "No, we talked and decided we needed to get to know each other better before we decide on whether or not we are going to take things any farther."

Alya patted Mari on the shoulder. "It's a beginning. What time do you have to be there and what time do I need to be there to help you get ready?"

"Dinner is at eight. Adrien is going to come and pick me up at 7:30," Marinette blushed.

"That gives me three hours after school to get you ready to blow his socks off," Alya said as she started going through Marinette's closet mentally. "You'll have to wear the midnight blue dress with the lace trim. It'll really make your eyes pop. And of course your hair will need to be curled and pinned up. Oh, and I know just what to do with your makeup." Marinette giggled as she let Alya plan her outfit and accessories for the night.

"Great, be at my place at 5," Marinette said. Alya nodded as the bell rang to inform them it was time for the second half of their day.

The second half of the day went much as the first half did. The only difference was the fact that Marinette and Adrien were both growing more nervous about dinner as the time grew closer.

Once school was done Marinette headed to the bakery to help her parents out for a while before getting ready. The X-Men arrived home and started working on their homework so they didn't have to deal with it after training that night.

Across town Dr. Strange had come of visit Master Fu. Master Fu looked up as Stephen Strange walked into the room through the magic portal. "You know, I could have had a customer in here," The short, white haired man said.

"I knew that you would not," Dr. Strange answered smugly.

"You know, one of these days I might have to wipe that smug smirk off your face," Master Fu threatened. "Since we are forced to work together at this moment why don't you just tell me what you found out about our enemy."

"So far I have not found out much more than the X-Men have at this point. He is going to take over the boys body and banish his spirit to the Crimson Chaos where he has been imprisoned for the last millennium or so. I believe he will then try to alter the world to his will. From what I have found he will begin to reshape the world as soon as he has control of the boy. We should probably prepare everyone for a breakdown in our electronic grid since the last time he was on this plane it did not exist." Master Fu was listening to the explanation while trying to figure out the best aspect of the miraculous' power.

Strange continued on with his discoveries, "I think I have found a lead on the last part of the stone but I cannot be sure until I hear back from my source. I figured when I brought you up to speed I could once again look through the book on the Miraculous so that I can see if any of the powers listed will be more helpful then the others."

Master Fu nodded and went over to the cabinet he had locked the book in. "I have been searching the book as well. There are certain abilities that I think would be more helpful then others but I cannot teach the children all of them in such a short amount of time. I am thankful for any help you can provide." Dr. Strange nodded as the two sat facing each other over the book.

At 5 p.m. Alya bounded up the stairs to Marinette's room. She burst into the room without knocking. Marinette squealed in surprise and almost fell backwards out of her computer chair. Alya swore she saw a red spot disappear behind a pillow. When she looked closer she couldn't see anything so just shrugged and finished climbing into the room. "Are you ready to knock Adrien's socks off?" The blogger gave a Cheshire Cat grin to her bff.

"Alya, you about gave me a heart attack," Marinette gasped as she put her hand over her rapidly beating heart.

"Sorry about that but I am so ready to help you finally bag your man," Alya giggled. Marinette joined in before dancing around with Alya. Once the girls squealing had quieted down Alya walked over to the sink and grabbed a brush and the curling iron.

"Hair first," she announced as she pulled the chair over and pushed Mari down into it.

Across town at the Xavier mansion the teens were getting ready for training. Rogue and Kitty were dressed and waiting for Logan to show up when they heard bikes stopping in front of the house. Running to the front door the girls were happy to discover that Remy and Piotr had returned from their trip. Kitty ran to the giant Russian mutant and jumped up to hug him around the neck and plant a kiss on his cheek.

"You, like, had me worried, you big teddy bear," she scolded as the Russians face went from pink to red when Remy started laughing at his friend.

Remy turned to see Rogue standing in the doorway with a relieved look on her face as well. As soon as she saw him looking she quickly hid it behind her usual stoic mask. "Nice of y'all to come back," she grumbled at the red-eyed mutant.

Remy put a cute pout on his face as he walked towards the untouchable mutant. "Aw, chere. Ya wound me. Ah was hoping dat ah would get a welcome back like what Piotr dere got."

Rogue straightened from where she was leaning against the door frame. "And why would ah give ya such a warm welcome," she asked as she sauntered up to the Cajun. "Unless ya want ta end up in a coma…" She had reached Remy right before she got to the end of the sentence and trailed off as she ran her gloved fingers down his cheek.

"Some t'ings are worth de risk, ma Cherie," Remy purred at her. Rogue rolled her eyes as she pushed him back.

"Ya know that's not funny, Rems," Rogue glared at him.

"Who said dat ah was joking," Remy questioned as he tilted his head.

With a growl Rogue turned and stormed off towards where training was going to be held.

"Remy," Kitty scolded. "Why do you, like, try to piss her off? You know she, like, hates her powers."

Remy sighed as he turned to the petite brunette. "Ah don't want to tick her off. But ah just love dat feisty southern temper."

Kitty's look softened. "You really, like, like her, don't you?"

Remy shrugged. "We need to talk with the professor. Come on Piotr."

Kitty watched them walk off before heading to the training area. She was starting to figure the two southern mutants did in fact like each other but each was too stubborn to admit it. _I think it's time I got involved and helped them out a little._ Kitty smirked as she started to formulate her plan.

Alya had just finished the last touches on Marinette's hair and make-up when they heard someone knocking on the door. "That would be Adrien," Alya squealed. This caused a small squeak to escape Marinette as nerves took over full force.

"I can't do this," she whispered.

Alya whipped around and stared the bluenette down. "Oh, no. You have worked too hard to get this far with the love of your life to back out now. Not to mention the two and a half hours we just spent on your hair, makeup and outfit. No, you are going to march your skinny butt downstairs and knock his socks off!"

Marinette stared wide eyed at Alya as she ranted. Taking a deep breath she steeled her nerves and gave her best friend a firm nod. "You're right. I've got to stop being a coward. It's time to really get to know this wonderful boy."

"That's the spirit. Just give me a moment to get into position. I want to make sure I have the perfect position to get a picture of his face when you come into the room." Alya smirked as she gave Marinette a good luck hug and sprinted down the stairs.

This gave Tikki a chance to go to get across the room and into the purse Marinette was carrying. Just before Marinette closed the purse Tikki popped back up and gave her cheek a quick squeeze. "You look beautiful Marinette," Tikki encouraged before going into the purse so Marinette could head down the stairs.

Taking a deep breathe Marinette steadied herself before starting down the stairs. She saw her parents standing at the bottom of the stairs talking to Adrien. When they turned to look up the stairs they gave a big smile to their daughter.

She wasn't far enough down for Adrien to see her yet but from the look on her parent's faces he was guessing that Marinette was going to look as beautiful as he thought she did everyday. He wasn't disappointed either. As she came into view he was pretty sure his jaw hit the ground. Alya had put on just enough makeup to make her eyes pop and her lips glossy. He found himself wondering what flavor lip gloss she used. Her hair was down in soft curls and the dress hugged her fit form before flaring slightly at the hips with the skirt ending about an inch above her knees. Her shoes were strapped sandals with 2 inch heels. "Wow," was all Adrien could manage to get out causing her parents to smile even bigger. They knew how much their daughter liked this boy so they were glad to see that he returned her affections.

Alya filmed the whole thing. She had found the perfect spot to get Marinette walking down the stairs before switching over to filming Adrien as she got down far enough for him to see her. _This is going to be a great video to show their kids some day,_ Alya thought with giddy glee. Marinette hugged her parents goodbye before walking out of their apartment with Adrien, who offered his elbow for her to put her hand through.

As the door closed Sabine and Tom turned to look at Alya. "You'll send us a copy of that video, won't you dear," Sabine questioned as Alya turned off her recording.

"Of course," Alya assured. "You'll need it for some future date." The three smiled at each other before Alya waved goodbye and headed out the door herself.

As Marinette and Adrien reached the car he grandly opened the door for her before going around and getting in on the other side. Marinette was a bundle of nerves. Adrien reached over and placed his hand over hers as she kept twisting them in her lap.

"It's going to be alright," he quietly assured the girl beside him. "Dad is going to love you."

Marinette startled when he touched her hand and looked up with wide eyes. "I'm so nervous I just know I am going to trip over something. I'll probably knock over some fancy artwork and it'll bash Betsy in the head and disfigure her and then I'll go to jail and I'll be arrest and spend the rest of my life in jail and never see my family and friends again!"

Adrien starting laughing as she finished her little meltdown. Hurt she turned and frowned at him. "Do you want me to be locked away forever because of assaulting a model?"

This caused Adrien to laugh harder, "No, no," he said as he gasped for air. "Now I know what Alya means about your imagination. Nothing like that is going to happen, Marinette." He took her hand in his again and looked her in the eye. "I promise, I won't let you fall and knock over some fancy artwork that causes Betsy to become disfigured."

Hearing Adrien repeat what she had said caused her to start laughing as well. "You're right," she choked out between laughs, "it does sound crazy when you say it out loud." They both grinned at each other before laughing again. Marinette loved hearing Adrien laugh. It didn't happen very often so she decided she would do her best to get him to laugh more.

Adrien smiled at Marinette as they settled back into their seats. He was once again distracted by the pink shine on her lips. _I really want to know what flavor lip gloss she wears,_ Adrien thought to himself. Realizing he was staring he blushed and quickly looked out his window. In no time they were pulling up in front of his house. The gorilla got out and opened the door for Adrien who hurried around and opened the door for Marinette.

Both took a minute to take a deep breath before walking towards the front door. Nathalie was waiting inside to let them in. "Your other guests have already arrived and are in the parlor," she informed Adrien. Nodding he thanked her before leading a gawking Marinette through the corridor to the entrance to the parlor.

Marinette stopped short of the parlor to get herself collected. "I can do this," she whispered softly to herself. She was getting ready to meet her idol in the fashion world. And she was on a "date" as it were with Adrien. She glanced over at the model to find him waiting patiently for her to be ready to enter the room. "Alright," she quietly said as she moved a little closer to Adrien, "let's get this show on the road."

Adrien grinned brightly at the beautiful girl beside him. "Right this way, M'Lady," he said with a small bow before tucking her hand in the crook of his elbow once more.

As they entered the room they were greeted by the purple haired ninja and her blonde boyfriend. "Hi, Betsy, Warren," Marinette greeted warmly. She took a moment after getting hugs to look the two over. Warren looked dashing as always in a dark blue suit and white dress shirt with a blue tie. Betsy was dressed in a soft soft purple dress that look like it was made from one piece of fabric wrapped around the models lithe body. It was a one should dress with a slash from the top of the shoulder down to the middle of her cleavage while the skirt flowed to the floor on the opposite side. The other side of the skirt was cut up to the top of her left hip showing off her shapely leg. "You look lovely tonight," Marinette complimented, "both of you."

Betsy smiled at the compliment, "You look very lovely this evening as well." She leaned in a little closer and lowered her voice. "Adrien, if you don't stop wondering about the flavor of her lipgloss I am going to kiss her for you to find out."

Both of the teens blushed as Betsy and Warren laughed. "I-i-I'm going to introduce Mari to my father now," Adrien blurted out. He quickly took her hand and led her over to his father. "Marinette, I would like to introduce you to my father. Marinette meet Gabriel Agreste. Father, this is Marinette," he smiled fondly at the girl standing beside him.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng," Gabriel greeted as he shook her offered hand.

"The pleasure is all mine Monsieur Agreste. I've been a huge fan of yours for years," Marinette greeted with a slight blush across her cheeks.

Gabriel smiled at the blue-nette. He could see why his son was infatuated with the cute girl. "Now that everyone is here, why don't we adjourn to the dining room for dinner?"

Betsy and Warren joined the three to walk to the dining room where they took their seats. The dinner conversation went smoothly. Marinette was able to talk fashion all through dinner. The entire time Adrien hardly said a word, he just watched Marinette with a dreamy look in his eye. He was so caught up in how animatedly she was talking about this new stitch she had been working with that he missed a question Betsy asked him.

 _Hello,_ Betsy said telepathically, making Adrien jump. Betsy and Warren laughed at the lovesick boy.

"I'm sorry," Adrien said with a small blush.

When her laughter subsided she once again asked, "How are things going with you two now that the cat is out of the bag?"

"Oh," Adrien said, "Things are going pretty good. I think we're making some headway. Still trying to make her notice me."

"That isn't the problem," Betsy laughed. "I'm pretty sure she has noticed you. I've seen the way she looks at you when you aren't looking at her."

"Really," Adrien cast a quizzical glance at his Lady. He sighed dreamily before turning back to his guests. "How are you guys enjoying Paris? Have you been having a good time?"

Warren nodded. "The city of love is amazing. I'm so glad Betsy convinced me to come along with her. Unfortunately I am going to have to head to London in a couple of days to deal with family business." Warren winced when he said family. His family hadn't really been supportive of him since he sprouted wings at 13. They had contacted many doctors trying to find a "cure" for their son. After all, they couldn't have a mutant take over the family business, it would be bad publicity.

Adrien chuckled a little when Warren said family like it left a bad taste in his mouth. "I think I understand how you feel on that," he said as he glanced sadly at his father who was still deep in conversation with Marinette.

"Family is difficult," Warren nodded.

"Marinette's family is the best," Adrien interjected. "Her parents actually listen to her and she can talk to them. Kinda makes me jealous."

"I don't think family is that bad," Betsy said. "Of course, my parents aren't around anymore but my brother and I get along great!"

"You have a brother," Adrien asked. He hadn't heard anything about her family before.

Betsy laughed, "A twin actually. You've probably heard of him. He's usually in the news." Adrien frown as he tried to remember anyone talking about a Braddock.

"I don't think I have," Adrien said as kept mentally running through news he'd watched.

"You've heard of the British team, Excalibur, right?" At Adrien's nod Betsy continued, "Well, my brother is Captain Britain."

Adrien felt his jaw drop, "Get out! Really? I always figured twins would share a similar power."

Betsy laughed again while Warren chuckled in amusement, "She likes to drop that bomb on people. Good thing for him she doesn't do it very often since he doesn't want anyone to know his secret identity." Warren sent Betsy a little frown.

She just waved him off with a little laugh. "Oh, please. Who's he going to tell? He's got his own secret to worry about." Adrien quickly glanced to where his father was sitting. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw he wasn't paying any attention to the three.

"My father doesn't know anything and I would like it to stay that way," Adrien muttered to Betsy.

"Pish, Posh," she said. "I'm not dense enough to say something like that without making sure no one else is paying attention. Telepath, remember?"

They were about to continue their conversation when the staff came in ready to serve dessert. Once it was served the five people fell back into conversation about fashion. Well, more like three of them did and the two guys at the end of the table just made off hand comments to each other to amuse themselves.

Once dessert was finished they went back to the parlor where Gabriel planned on finally breaching the subject of Betsy modeling for his company exclusively. Marinette decided that would be a good time to excuse herself to "freshen" up. Since she hadn't been in the house before Adrien walked with her to show her were the bathroom was.

"Thank you for having me over tonight, Adrien," she smiled shyly at the boy. "I've been having such a great time."

Adrien gave her a big smile, the first 'real' smile he had given anyone since his mom left. "I'm glad. I've enjoyed listening to you talk about your passion. And it was great to see Father get some excitement back in his life too." He blushed as he stepped a little closer to her. "Maybe the two of us could go to dinner sometime soon?"

Marinette was glad she had her hand on the door handle for the bathroom to help steady herself. She couldn't believe Adrien had just asked her out on a real date. "Really," she questioned willing herself not to start jumping up and down in joy. When Adrien nodded she let out a little squeak before saying, "I would love to."

Adrien's smile looked like it could break his face in half. "Excellent! Wonderful!"

Marinette giggled as she opened the bathroom door. "I'm just gonna powder my nose," she said a little breathlessly.

"Alright," Adrien agreed. "My room is just three doors down to the right. I'll wait for you in there and then we can join the others for the rest of the evening."

Nodding, Marinette quickly retreated to the bathroom. When she was sure Adrien had gone far enough away to not hear her she opened her bag and looked at Tikki. "Pinch me, I think I'm dreaming. Adrien wants to go on a real date with me!" She twirled around the bathroom until she ran into the side of the sink. "Ooof," she said as she rubbed her hip. "Chalk up another bruise to my clumsiness."

Tikki giggled at her holder. "I guess this means you've decided you still have feelings for Adrien even though he is Cat Noir."

Marinette sighed, "Yeah, he's still this sweet guy. I can't help but get lost in his eyes every time he looks at me." She sighed dreamily as she looked into the mirror to make sure her make-up hadn't smudged. She quickly took care of her business and reapplied her lipgloss before making her way out of the bathroom towards where Adrien said his bedroom was.

"This place is huge," she whispered to Tikki who nodded her agreement. When she arrived at Adrien's door she knocked.

"Come on in," Adrien called. He had taken the chance to pull up the news to make sure an Akuma wasn't causing problems.

"Anything interesting happening," Marinette asked as she walked up behind him to look over his shoulder at the screens. She couldn't believe this size of his room and all the stuff he had. _Three computer screens plus two TV screens? I'm lucky to have one of each!_ Marinette shook her head as she tried to concentrate on what the news reporter was saying.

"Doesn't look like anything important is going on right now," Adrien said as he looked up at his lady. "Guess that means we get to enjoy the rest of our night." He grinned at her. "You look amazing tonight, by the way," he said with a small blush covering his cheeks.

Marinette blushed as well. "You look purrrty good yourself, kitty." Realizing she had made a pun she put a hand over to her mouth as her blush deepened.

Adrien put a hand over his chest to make sure his heart was still beating, "M'Lady, did, did, did you just make a pun?" He couldn't believe his ears. He was surely dead. But Marinette nodded and he couldn't help it. He grabbed her by the waist and swung her around the room while they laughed. "I didn't think you'd purposely make a pun, M'Lady." Marinette giggled as he sat her back on the floor. He took another small step closer as his hands tightened on her hips.

As Adrien stepped closer Marinette got lost in his emerald gaze and her heart rate kicked into a faster tempo. _Is he going to kiss me?_ Marinette had been wanting to kiss Adrien since he had given her his umbrella over a year ago. As they got closer Marinette's arms worked their way around Adrien's neck. Their lips were centimeters apart when they heard a big boom as something knocked the front gates down.

Both of the teens groaned in frustration as they rushed to the window to see Steamroller heading towards the front doors. They had been so close to finally kissing. Adrien couldn't wait to kick Steamroller's tail for interrupting his chance to **finally** kiss his lady. Grumping he looked around for Plagg. Knowing he was somewhere in the room he called, "Plagg, Claws Out!" He heard a little cry of frustration from his Kwami as he was sucked into his miraculous.

Marinette also transformed at that moment, "Tikki," she called, "Spots On!" The room was filled with pink and green light as the two transformed. "Are we ready to kick this guy's behind," Marinette asked.

Cat nodded before looking at Marinette again, "Did you put your hair in pigtails before you transformed?"

Looking confused she ran her hands through her hair. "Huh, I guess pigtails are part of the uniform." Shrugging they took off to the entryway. The two jumped down just as Steamroller barreled through the front door.

Cat Noir quickly jumped on the behemoth's back while Ladybug made a trip line with her yo-yo. Cat was taking out his frustration by clawing at Steamroller's back. He misjudged how quick the magical creature was and didn't have time to fully get out of the way after one of his attacks before Steamroller grabbed the black cat by his arm and flung him across the room into a wall. Cat was dazed but not completely out of the fight. Cat Noir's distraction was just what Ladybug needed to make sure the massive being did not see the trip line in time. He tripped and went running down the hall and into a wall outside of the parlor.

Ladybug ran over and helped Cat Noir to his feet. Once he was steadied they ran into the parlor and was shocked to see Gabriel standing beside a door leading to another room while Betsy had her telepathic katana at the ready and a purple butterfly type shape around her head.

"Has she been Akumatized?" Ladybug demanded of Warren who had stripped off his coat and shirt to free his wings.

"What," Warren asked before looking at his girlfriend. "Oh, no. That appears when ever she is in telepathic contact with someone." He smiled assuredly at the two teenagers.

"I can't believe my top model is a mutant," Gabriel said while looking suspiciously at the purple haired girl.

Cat Noir emitted a low growl. _Figures Father is against mutants,_ Adrien thought sadly. "Sir," he said out loud, "do you know why he is here?"

Gabriel shook his head as the the villain in question came barreling through the door. He stopped as he looked around. His eyes settled on Gabriel and he started forward. Only to have 4 people jump in front of him. Laughing he kept moving forward and knocked the first two out of the way before being stabbed in the back with Betsy's mental Katana. He screamed as he felt it pierce the outer shell of his husk that encases him when he is Steamroller. With his screams in his ears he didn't hear Betsy screaming as well.

As Betsy collapsed Warren swooped in and caught her while yelling to Ladybug and Cat Noir, "Get Gabriel out of here!"

Without missing a beat the pair jumped into action. Cat grabbed his father around the waist and used his staff to vault them over Steamroller while Ladybug swung alongside them. They ran through the door pulling Gabriel along with them. "What's the safest room in the house?" Ladybug demanded as they ran along the corridor.

"This way," Gabriel instructed as he took the lead. He lead them up the stairs to his office. Once inside he flipped over the panel that initiated the mansion's lockdown.

"No," Cat yelled causing Gabriel and Ladybug to turn around and look at him without understanding. "If you lockdown the mansion the X-Men won't be able to get inside."

 _Crap,_ Ladybug thought. "Do it, Mr. Agreste. I'll try to get a message though to Jean," Ladybug explained as she looked at Cat. "If we can get a mental image to Nightcrawler then he can teleport everyone in. Or Kitty can phase them through." Cat nodded and Gabriel slapped his hand on the panel to activate the lockdown.

"You guys stay here and wait for the X-Men," Cat instructed. "I'm going to go check on Betsy and Warren."

"Chaton," Ladybug stopped him with a hand on his arm. Cat turned to look at her quizzically. "Please, be careful," Ladybug place a quick kiss on the stunned boys cheek before trying to contact the X-Men.

Cat Noir basically floated out of the room trying not to let his purring get loud enough for anyone to hear. His lady cared for him and wanted him to come back safe. He quickly made his way downstairs and was quick to find Betsy but no Warren and no Steamroller. He didn't have to look very far though. Apparently Warren found the conservatory at the back of the house. He used the high ceiling to it's full advantage to swoop around the behemoth and annoy him enough to keep him occupied. It was obvious to Cat that Warren was getting tired and tired means slowing down which leads to being caught. Using the only thing he could think of he called on his Cataclysm to bring one of the pillars down on the head of the enraged monster. As the column was made of extremely heavy marble it would take him a minute to unearth himself.

Warren dropped down next to Cat Noir thankfully, breathing hard. "Thanks," Warren panted as he tried to catch his breath.

"Let's go get Betsy and get back to Dad's office. The X-Men should be here shortly." Warren nodded at the black cat boy as they ran back and and grabbed Betsy who was starting to come around. Once they were back in the office Ladybug ran over to the group. She quickly embraced Cat before bending down and checking on Betsy.

"Easy," Ladybug said softly. "What happened? Did you get any information from him?"

Betsy nodded. "He's easily distracted because Julien is fighting Cyttorak for control. Cyttorak thinks the last piece of the gem is here."

"We just received a shipment of materials for the embellishments of our new winter line," Gabriel interjected.

"Where are they," Ladybug asked quickly.

"They're at the office where the clothing is made," Gabriel answered.

"The X-Men are here," Betsy informed. It was only a second later that Nightcrawler popped in with three of the X-Men in tow. Kitty had phased two others up through the floor. While Nightcrawler went back out to retrieve Colossus, Storm and Wolverine, Ladybug and Betsy filled the others in on the situation. Nightcrawler had just reappeared when a crash came from the back of house followed by a bellowing.

"Alright, people," Scott took command, "here's what we're going to do. Ladybug, Kitty, and Kurt will take Gabriel Agreste to the Fashion headquarters to find the gemstone while the rest of us try get Steamroller trapped."

Nodding, Kurt grabbed onto Ladybug, Gabriel, and Kitty before porting outside in front of the garage. They quickly piled into Gabriel's car to head to the Agreste Fashion Headquarters.

XXX

The next chapter is going to be interesting. ;-) Tune in next chapter to see what the new powers are going to be.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

As Nightcrawler and Kitty disappeared to take Ladybug and Gabriel Agreste to the fashion headquarters to find the gem, the rest of the team started down the stairs before being interrupted by Cat's ring beeping. "Shoot," Adrien said. "I need to feed Plagg. Warren can lead you back to where we left Steamroller buried under a ton of marble."

Nodding, Warren lead the X-Men towards the Conservatory while Adrien dropped his transformation. He ran back to his room and grabbed some cheese for the grumbling Kwami. "Eat up quickly," Adrien instructed Plagg. "We need to get down there and help the X-Men. I really wish Ladybug was here."

Plagg chowed down on the cheese. He was a lazy kitty but knew the danger downstairs so wanted to finish the fight as quickly as possible. The sooner it was done the sooner he could nap. "Alright, kid," he spoke up. "Let's get this over with."

Nodding Adrien called for his transformation and then ran down to join the fight he could hear taking place downstairs. He ran in as Amanda was hurling magic blasts at the monster and Rogue was trying to sneak around behind a distracted Steamroller. Cat stopped and studied the white streaked mutant. She was carrying something on her back but he couldn't quite make out what it was. Shrugging he looked around to see what he could do to help with the fight. He noticed some things moving around him and was surprised to discover that most of the mutants were fighting Marble characters. Running over to Amanda he used his staff to knock apart the creature that was getting ready to surprise attack her.

"What is going on here," Cat Noir asked as he continued to keep the creatures off Amanda while she tried to cast a spell to trap Steamroller.

"It would appear that one of Steamrollers abilities is to create an army of creatures out of inanimate objects. He's been attacking us with various versions of villains and heroes from action movies."

Cat knocked down a creature that looked an awful lot like Lara Croft. "At least he has good taste in movies and games?" Amanda let out a quick chuckle before sending another web of magic towards Steamroller in hopes of pinning him down. He managed to avoid the magic attack and spun around just as Rogue got into position to spray him with the knockout fluid Remy and Piotr had 'liberated' from a pharmaceutical company outside of Paris.

Rogue wasn't ready for how fast Steamroller moved and didn't have time to get completely out of the way of the blow he sent her direction. She managed to avoid taking the blow to the head as the villain originally planned but it caught her shoulder, throwing her into a group of marble vampires. As she fought to take them out, Steamroller came running full force at her. Seeing this Cat Noir called on Cataclysm to make a hole in the floor while Gambit ran at the moving behemoth, vaulting into a flying front kick and knocking him in the head. Unfortunately for Remy he might as well have kicked a boulder with as much good as it did.

Remy landed heavily on his other leg to keep from aggravating the pain radiating up the leg he kicked the unmovable creature. Steamroller keep right on moving towards Rogue but luckily Cat's hole slowed him down enough to where Rogue could use one of the 'vampires' to flip out of the way so she didn't get pummeled by his fists. Once she landed on the other side she took the opportunity release the gas right in the evildoer's face. He roared in anger as he pulled himself up out of the hole and ran once more towards the striped hair mutant. He was moving a tad bit slower this time around. Amanda tried yet again to snare him with her magic net but he wasn't quite slow enough yet.

"Rogue," Magik called, "you need to dose him again."

"Great idea," the southern retorted. "Can ya tell him ta stop for a moment so ah can spray him in the face again?" She was currently doing her best to avoid being caught by the creatures that had been created while also avoiding being squashed by the one controlling them.

Magik grumbled under her breath as she sent magically blasts at the unstoppable creature. The others were doing their best to destroy all the rubble creatures they could. Adrien's ring beeped at him once more. Growling, he kept chanting _just a little longer, just a little longer,_ with the hope that Plagg could hear and hold on just a little longer. He worked on keeping the creatures off of Rogue and Magik with Remy in the hopes of giving the girls a chance to catch the creature. Finally, Rogue had an opening and took it. She sprayed him in the face again but wasn't able to get fully out of the way of the swing he took at her. He caught her in the side and threw her against the wall before slowing down enough for Magik to capture him in her magic snare.

Once Steamroller was incapacitated Remy ran over to check on Rogue while Adrien ran out to feed Plagg. "Chere," Remy questioned, "are you alright?"

Groaning, Rogue rubbed her aching head. "Yeah, ah'm gonna be fine. Ah just need a minute for the world to stop spinning."

"It's alright, Cherie," Remy assured as he put an arm around her shoulders to steady her.

She smiled softly at the red eyed Cajun. "Thanks for the help, Rems, but ah can take it from here. Ah need to give him a final dose so we can transport him."

Remy still didn't completely back off as she started to rise from the ground. Especially when she winced and grabbed her side. Pulling her hand away she was surprised to see blood covering her hand. Remy's eyes widened at the sight. He quickly pulled her hand away and knelt down to better examine the wound. Rogue winced when he touched the area. "Sorry, chere," Remy apologized as he stood. "It's going to need stitches."

Cringing Rogue stepped forward. "Let's get this guy gassed so we can get it taken care of then."

Remy took the canister off of her back. "Ah'll take care of it. You go see if Adrien has a first aid kit to stop the bleeding until we can get back to the medical wing and get it stitched." Rogue glowered at the annoying Cajun before huffing and shuffling out to do what he said. Remy watched her go then turned to Steamroller where he was fighting the net Magik had caught him in.

He knelt down in front of the villain's face before growling, "You hurt mah chere, homme. You are going to be in a world of hurt when you wake up."

The threat only caused Steamroller to laugh. "You puny human, there is nothing you can do to me."

Remy kicked the guy in the face before emptying the remainder of the knockout gas in his face. "Bâtard (bastard)," Remy grumbled before following to find Rogue.

He found her in the bathroom down the hall from Adrien's room with Adrien applying some bandages to the open wound. "We should get her to a hospital," Adrien said when Remy entered the room. "She's losing a lot of blood and I don't have a way to stitch her up here."

"And how are we supposed to get outta here, ami?" Remy walked over and helped support Rogue as she swayed from the loss of blood.

"I'll transform and contact Marinette," Adrien answered. "She'll be able to get Father back here so he can shut down the security system and we can get her some medical attention." Remy nodded and Adrien quickly walked out of the room and called for his transformation. He quickly pulled his baton out and call Ladybug. He was happy to see her when she answered after only 1 ring.

"Is everything alright, chaton," she questioned with fear in her eyes.

"Not really," he answered. "Rogue's hurt bad. We need to shut down the security system so we can get her to a hospital. How fast can you get M. Agreste back here?"

"We're almost back to the house now. I'll have Kurt teleport him in ASAP. Give us 2 minutes." Cat sighed with relief as he ran back to the bathroom.

"They'll be here in 2 minutes," He informed the Cajun who was trying to get the bleeding to stop.

"Ah hope we've got that long," Remy fretted. "Ah can't get de damn bleeding to stop."

"Ok," Adrien said, "let's get her down to the door. As soon as the system is shut down the gorilla can drive her to the hospital." Adrien went to his father's office and was pacing back and forth when the stench of brimstone reached his nostrils. Turning he saw that everyone was back. "We have to get this shut down quickly and get her to the hospital."

Gabriel didn't question the black cat since Ladybug had already filled him in. "My driver is waiting outside with the car running."

Once the doors were opened Remy bundled Rogue into the car and headed to the hospital. Cyclops, Jean, Betsy, and Warren walked into the room. "We apologize for the destruction in your conservatory, sir," Scott apologized.

"It was time to update that room anyway," Gabriel sighed before setting up straight. "My son," he got up and headed towards the door. "He and his date were upstairs when that creature came barreling in. I must check on them."

Luckily Ladybug and Cat Noir had made a hasty retreat after Rogue was shipped off to the hospital. Jean quickly contacted them telepathically to let them know Gabriel was on his way. They quickly moved to the bathroom and closed the door. They figured Gabriel would buy that they were hiding in there for the duration of the battle.

Gabriel barged into the room. He quickly scanned the area and noticed that it was empty but that the door to the bathroom was closed. He quickly walked over and started pounding on the door. Adrien quickly opened the door. Gabriel gave a relieved sigh before hugging his son and checking behind him to ensure Marinette was unharmed.

"I'm glad to see that you guys are safe," Gabriel said as he regained his composure.

"Yes, Father," Adrien answered. "What happened? We heard a lot noise and some yelling. We barricaded ourselves in here and figured it would be best to stay here, especially when you activated the security system."

Gabriel nodded. "That was smart thinking." Gabriel then turned and walked out of the room and back downstairs were they were loading Steamroller into the X-Jet. Adrien and Marinette were right on his heels. Betsy and Warren ran up to the two and while Warren patted Adrien on the back Betsy pulled Marinette into a tight hug and then turned and gave one to Adrien.

 _We have to sell the whole you were in the bathroom the entire fight story_. Marinette and Adrien smiled.

"Are you guys alright," Marinette questioned.

"Still in one piece," Warren answered. Marinette flushed slightly when she realized Warren was still bare chested. Adrien frowned when he noticed the blush on Marinette's cheeks.

"You know, it's kinda chilly out here," Adrien hinted, "Maybe you should go put a shirt on before you catch a cold."

Betsy chuckled at the exchange before telling Warren that they should collect their belongings and head back to their hotel. Nodding Warren headed back into the house.

Gabriel came up to the purple haired mutant. "Thank you for helping to protect my home. And I hope we can met up again to finish our discussions about you signing an exclusive contract with my company."

Betsy looked surprised at first. "Maybe we could met for lunch tomorrow? There's a small café not far from here. Warren and I are heading to London the following day."

"Then I will see you tomorrow at noon," Gabriel confirmed before turning and walking back into his house. _I am going to have to hire someone to come in and fix the conservatory. At least it isn't close to my secret room._

Once they had Steamroller loaded into the X-Jet it took off for the mansion. Marinette, Kitty, Adrien, Piotr, Kurt and Amanda decided to head to the hospital to check in on Rogue. Once they reached the hospital they were relieved to find out that Rogue was stitched up and getting an infusion to help with the amount of blood she had lost.

"De doctors say dat as soon as de bag of blood is emptied dat we can head home," informed a tired looking Remy.

"That's wonderful," Marinette and Kitty exclaimed at the same time.

Once Rogue was released they piled into Adrien's car to take the mutants home. "So, now that you've caught Steamroller and have the last piece of the crystal does that mean that you all are leaving Paris," Marinette questioned. With so many people squeezed into the car she was squished between Kitty and Adrien. Remy had safely placed Rogue on his lap so that her stitches wouldn't get bumped. She had grumbled profusely before growing too tired to argue anymore. She vowed she'd get him back as soon as she wasn't so tired.

Kitty shrugged. "I'm, like, not sure what the Professor has in mind. We'll more then likely stay at least until the end of the week."

"Let us know," Marinette requested. "I want to have a going away party for you guys. It's been great having you guys around."

"That would be great," Kitty agreed while Amanda nodded her agreement. "We'll still be at school tomorrow so, like, I can hopefully tell you when we will be, like, heading home."

They dropped the X-Men off at their house before heading towards the bakery to drop Marinette off. Once they arrived Adrien walked Marinette to the door. "Thanks for coming over tonight," Adrien said softly.

"I had a great time," Marinette smiled at him before looking away and blushing slightly. He quickly placed a kiss on her check and ran back to the car. Marinette touched her cheek with one hand while waving at Adrien with the other.

The next day at school everybody was a lot more relaxed then they had in a long time. Moria MacTaggert from Muir Island had brought down a container to keep Steamroller in a suspended state of consciousness until they could figure out how to separate Julien from the gemstone. Xavier had decided that the team would finish out the rest of October at school here in France. Kitty and Rogue were hoping that meant he was working on a way to keep the guys from having to go back to Magneto.

"I'm so glad you guys are going to be sticking around a while longer," Alya smiled at the group. "It seems like Marinette is the only one to really get to spend some time with you guys."

"Don't forget Adrien," Amanda said with a wink in Marinette's direction.

"Why don't we, like, have a sleep over this weekend," Kitty said as she bounced in her seat as Rogue groaned. She wasn't too thrilled with having so many people so close.

"That sounds like a blast," Alya agreed. "I'm sure I can convince my parents to let me come. What about you Marinette?"

"I'll have to check with my parents but I don't think it will be a problem." Marinette said as she tried to remember if anything special was going on this weekend.

"Great," Amanda and Kitty squealed. "We'll get it cleared with the professor." The girls continued to plan their weekend as they finished up lunch and headed towards their next class.

That evening the mutant teens got their first night off from training in a long time. As the group lounged around the house a certain red-eyed Cajun was looking for a certain green eyed girl. He finally found her in a back room draped over a chair with her dog eared copy of Dracula.

Remy smirked as he walked into the room, "Jus' de femme ah was lookin' for," he walked up behind her chair and draped his arms over the back of it as well as her shoulder.

Rogue growled as she shrugged away from Remy and turned to face him. "Why are ya looking for me," she questioned.

"We're in de city of love, chere," he explained, "and ah wanted to show you some of de sights."

Rogue frowned as she studied Remy in hopes of figuring out what his game was. "There are plenty of girls in the city that would kill ta go out with ya," Rogue pointed out with a dismissive wave of her gloved hand.

"But dere's only one dat ah want to show around," Remy said with sincerity. He kept approaching the wary mutant like he was walking up to a hurt wild animal.

"But why," Rogue questioned. "Ah'm not anything special to warrant this attention." She truly couldn't figure out why he was so interested in her. Sure she was a challenge but he was putting way more effort in then she figured he would.

Remy smiled. "Ah just like spending time wit' you, chere. Can't you just give me a night? We had so much fun in Naw'leans."

Rogue smiled softly as she remembered their "impromptu" trip down to Louisiana. "Ah had fun too. Even if you were manipulating me." Her smile turned into a smirk as she remembered how their night on the town ended. "Alright, maybe this weekend you can show me around," Rogue capitulated.

Remy smiled at her before sweeping her up in a hug. "Ah'll get ta planning," and with a wink he was off leaving Rogue shaking her head.

The rest of the week went by in an uneventful haze. Logan started up training for the X-Men and Amanda, Marinette, and Adrien trained with Dr. Strange to enhance their magical abilities. During their free time, Remy made plans for Saturday and Kitty, Amanda, and Alya were excited about the sleepover they had planned.

Friday after school everyone went their separate ways with Marinette and Alya agreeing to be at the mansion by 7 to start the sleepover. The X-Men went home to get ready for training while Marinette and Adrien went to Master Fu's for training with the Guardian. Dr. Strange wasn't going to be able to make it for training that night so Master Fu wanted to get into more of the specifics they had found in the book. Adrien and Marinette had quickly picked up the chi meditation that Dr. Strange had assigned them. Now it was time to try out a new power.

Master Fu had them start with the meditation ritual they had learned. Then he had them concentrate on linking more with their miraculous. Since their powers worked like yin and yang Master Fu told Marinette to look for the light inside her miraculous while Cat was to look for the darkness inside his. Once they found those they were to bond with it.

Cat was quick to point out that most thought that darkness was associated with death and bad magic. Master Fu said that magic in and of itself is not good or evil. The way a person wields the power behind the magic is how it gets labeled as evil. He assured Cat that he knew that Adrien was a good, kind person who didn't wish harm on anyone so the magic that he now wielded wouldn't be considered evil unless he wished it to. Nodding the two went through the mediation sequence several times with their eyes closed trying to develop a deeper bond with their miraculous. Surprisingly, Cat was the first one to see what he was looking for. The darkness inside the ring was beautiful. It reminded him of pictures he had seen of solar systems. It's wasn't all black like he originally thought it would be, it was a mix of blacks and purples swirling together. He drew closer to explore the possibilities that were within.

Shortly after Cat found his darkness, Ladybug found her light. She was drawn to a pure white space that reminded her of the space Pixelator's victims disappeared into. The only difference was every once in a while there were tiny pinpricks of color that would sparkle like a gem. She felt a jolt of excitement at the potential in front of her and she moved forward to investigate further.

Master Fu watched the two as they came to after about 30 minutes of meditation. He could tell immediately that something was different. "I take it you found what you were searching for," he stated. The two teens nodded as they released their transformations to give their Kwamis a break. "How do you feel? Did you learn anything new?"

Both teens nodded again as they gave their kwamis food. Marinette was the first to speak up. "There is a lot of potential hidden inside the magical gems. There are so many things that it showed me that I need some time to process all the information."

Adrien nodded his agreement. "I thought that the _'darkness'_ inside the ring would be tied to death but it is so much more. It's going to take some time to process and put into practice. I, and I am guessing Marinette as well, now have a stronger connection to Plagg and Tikki." Marinette voiced her agreement.

"Alright," Master Fu acquiesced. "Why don't we meet back up on Sunday and see what powers come to the forefront." Adrien and Marinette nodded before bidding the Guardian goodnight.

Once outside Adrien turned to Marinette. "How are you feeling?"

"Strangely calm," Marinette said after a moment of reflection. "It's like all this power has calmed all my fears about what the future will hold. The miraculous will be able to provide me the power to handle anything."

Adrien was nodding as she talked. "I feel the same way. It's strange but I feel like I'm more connected to Plagg as well. I can feel that he's content at the moment without actually looking in my pocket to see him."

Marinette nodded in agreement. "I can feel the same with Tikki." She paused to check the time on her phone. "I need to get going if I'm going to make it to the sleepover."

Adrien grinned. "Maybe a certain cat should stop by later tonight to make sure everyone is behaving."

Marinette frowned before breaking out in giggles. "If you are hoping for a pillow fight with us jumping on the bed in our underwear you will be seriously disappointed." She continued to giggle as Adrien's face fell.

"Awww, princess," he whined, "why did you have to burst my bubble?"

"Let's look at the facts," Marinette said around her giggles as they climbed into the limo waiting for Adrien who instructed the driver to go to the Xavier mansion. "One, Rogue's powers. She can't control them so it would be dangerous to do that. Two, it only happens in movies. Most sleepovers involve ice cream, movies, and gossip."

Adrien smiled. "But you are all in jammies." This caused Marinette to start giggling again.

"It's pajamas , Adrien, not lingerie."

Adrien pouted. "Don't even think about stopping by. How would I explain why you were there. I'm not supposed to know Cat Noir," Marinette whispered the last part so the driver couldn't over hear.

"I could think of something." Adrien said with a pout.

"Your cute pout isn't going to work, minou," Marinette said as she reached over bopped his nose. They arrived at the mansion about that time and Marinette reached for her door.

"Have a fun night, princess," Adrien said quietly.

Marinette turned to smirk at Adrien but he had scooted closer and when she turned they were nose to nose. Marinette's face turned pink and Adrien couldn't help himself. He gave her a quick peck on the lips and sat back with his cheeks burning. Marinette squeaked and almost fell out of the car when the driver opened the door.

"Uhhh, yeah," Marinette tried to get her brain to work. "I'll see you Sunday," she was proud of herself for getting that sentence out as she managed to grab her bag and head towards the front door. She tripped over the first step but managed to catch herself before face planting. Getting back up she managed to walk into the house without being anymore clumsy.

Amanda and Alya were right inside the door as Marinette walked in. "Are you ready for some fun," Amanda asked. Marinette nodded and the girls headed upstairs. The beginning of the night went as planned. The girls talked and giggled and told stories of things that had happened to them at school, and in the case of the X-Men, some of the stupid things that happened on missions. They were called down for supper at 7:30. Once everyone had eaten the went into the den to watch the Titanic. Rogue was reluctant to join because she thought the movie was a bunch of hooey but in the end she ended up crying with the rest of them at the sappy ending.

After the movie and all the crying had stopped they headed back upstairs. "I think it's time for some truth or dare," Kitty insisted.

Alya grinned, "I agree. Who wants to go first?"

"I'll go first," Amanda responded with a grin.

"Alright," Alya said with smirk, "Truth or Dare?"

Amanda thought for a moment, "Truth."

"Why did you decide to learn magic?"

"That's an easy one," Amanda said as she pushed her dark brown hair back over her shoulder. "I found out that my mom's ancestors were gypsy's who practiced magic. I tried out a couple of spells I found in a book in the library and was good at them. My spells kept getting bigger until they drew the attention of the Sorcerer Supreme." The girls giggled at her imitation of Dr. Strange's announcement of his status. "Alright, now Rogue," Rogue looked suspiciously at the girl, "Truth or Dare?"

"Truth," Rogue drawled out.

"What is your real name?"

Rogue frowned and Amanda quickly stated, "Don't forget, if you refuse to answer you have to do the dare instead."

Rogue's frown turned to a glare before she huffed out a breath. "Fahne, mah name is Anna Marie. Irene started calling me her little Rogue while I was just starting school. It just kinda stuck and ah liked the way people were kinda scared of me when ah told the teacher to call me that." Rogue smirked at the group who were giggling at the thought of Rogue being little and using her name to intimidate the others in her class. "Alright, Kitty," Rogue said with a smirk, "Truth or Dare?"

Kitty scrunched her nose in thought before replying, "Dare."

Rogue's face split into a cat who ate the canary grin. "Ah dare you ta find Piotr and kiss him." She paused for dramatic effect. "On the lips." The rest of the group erupted into excited giggles.

Kitty huffed, "Fine, I'll be back in a minute."

Rogue smirked at her again. "You have to take someone with you to corroborate that it happened."

"Are you going to assign the person to me or do I get to choose," Kitty growled.

Rogue took pity on her. "You can choose."

Nodding Kitty asked Alya to go with her. As the two left the room Tikki came out of hiding to get some of the cookies. "This is an interesting game," she said as she settled on Marinette's knee.

The group laughed at her. "It's a good way to find out more information about the people you are spending time with."

Tikki shrugged. "The dares seem kinda mean."

Amanda took sympathy on the Kwami. "It can be if you are mixed up with the wrong crowd. But if it is something you really don't want to do you can switch to the truth instead."

Tikki nodded while she munched on her cookie. "I guess that's a good thing. Still seems a little like peer pressure though."

Rogue smirked at the red and black god. "Kitty will thank me for this when it's over. It'll finally get her that date she's been hinting at and Piotr just can't seem to pick up on." The rest of the girls giggled. Just then Alya and Kitty were phasing back through the door so Tikki had to hide again.

Kitty's cheeks were still red and Alya was trying to hide her giggles. With a huff Kitty sat down and look around the room. "I did it. Are you happy?" She glowered at them when all of the girls nodded with small grins on their faces. "Fine, Marinette, your turn. Truth or Dare?"

Marinette had to think for a minute. "Truth."

Kitty smirked. "Have you and Adrien kissed yet?"

Marinette blushed. "Not really," she muttered.

"How can it not be a yes or no answer," Alya questioned.

"Well, as he was dropping me off here he pecked my lips right as I was opening the door. But it was only for a second so I'm not really sure if that counts or not."

Jean nodded. "Both people have to participate for it to be a kiss."

Marinette smiled at the red haired mutant. "Thanks. And now it's Alya's turn. Truth or Dare?" Marinette looked at her bespectacled friend with a mischievous smile on her face.

"I'll do dare," Alya answered without a hint of hesitation.

Marinette's smile turned into a full fledged smirk. "Call Nino and set up a date for tomorrow night."

Alya blushed but pulled her phone out of her pocket to scroll through her contacts. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she hit the call button next to Nino's name. Everyone watched in silent admiration as she quickly made some small talk with Nino and then asked if he would like to go out tomorrow to see a movie. With a satisfied grin on her face she said her goodbyes and turned to the gathered group. "I guess it's my turn to pick. Jean Truth or Dare?"

"Truth," Jean answered.

"I have a question I want answered," Kitty butted in. Alya motioned for her to continue. "Why did you date Duncan Matthews?"

Jean turned red before answering. "At first he seemed like a nice guy. Then Scott and him started fighting over everything to try to impress me and I think I stayed with Duncan to annoy Scott even though Duncan was driving me insane with his macho man act. Then when we were outed the final straw was when he said he could use my 'disability' to his advantage. To think I would stay with that insufferable pig after that just made me nauseous." The girls all giggled as Jean finished her rant.

The game continued well into the night with more people getting brave enough to do dares. Outside the window the girls didn't see a black cat with green eyes watching. He figured he couldn't hear anything anyone was saying but he was curious as to what went on at sleep overs since he had never had one. Deciding he had spied on them long enough he sat on the roof to look at the stars before heading home. A hand landed on his shoulder causing him to jump, hiss, and spin around ready to attack the person who snuck up on him.

Remy had seen the black cat sitting on the roof and was curious as to what he was doing there. So he walked over and reached out. Now he was sitting on the roof howling with laughter. He didn't know that Adrien would react just like a startled cat. Adrien was standing there staring at him in confusion so he tried to get his laughter under control. Unfortunately the harder he tried the more he laughed. After about 5 minutes he finally got himself under control enough to speak. "Ah'm sorry, mon ami. Ah didn't expect you to be so catlike when startled."

Adrien sat down next to the red-eyed mutant. "Yeah, I take on a lot of cat traits when I transform." Adrien released his transformation. As Plagg appeared Adrien pulled a chunk of Camembert out of his pocket. "I wasn't being a pervert if that's what you were thinking," he practically pouted.

"Ah'm the last person to be casting dat stone. Ah can't count de times ah've spied on Rogue. Ah was just trying to see what you were doing."

Adrien looked at the mutant out of his peripheral vision as Remy used his powers to light a cigarette. "I've never been to a sleepover and wanted to see what it was like." Remy nodded.

"We've both been brought up in not so normal circumstances. Mon Père was no real prize either. Ah was brought up in de T'ieves Guild. Ah was groomed to marry de daughter of de assassin's guild. Ah joined Magneto to get away and buy myself some time to find a way out of marrying dat psychopath."

Adrien laughed. "Makes my life sound better." The two of them talked for a couple of hours before Adrien decided to head back home before the found out he was missing.

XXX

Sorry about not getting to the new powers yet. I promise they will be in the next chapter! I think I'm going to get everything wrapped up in another 4 chapters. Stay tuned for a little plot twist.


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